Trails of the Huntresses - Dust and Cold Steel
by ZMusok
Summary: One month before the Vytal festival Team RWBY went missing. And once they returned, they are changed. How will their experience made in a world so different and yet so similar to their own influence their path towards the futur? (Set at the beginning of Vol.3 for RWBY and the Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 for Legend of Heroes)
1. Chapter 1

The world of Remnant wasn't a friendly world for its inhabitants. Vicious creatures called Grimm roamed the lands, killing anything human in their path. To face these monsters, schools were built and a part of the new generation was raised with weapons in hand to protect the innocent. But not everyone who enrolled at these academies lived long enough to make it to the end. And no one would know that better then the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin.

The grey-haired man sat in his office high above the ground and listened, once again, to the arguing of two of his most trusted people, the strict Glynda Goodwitch and the rough Qrow Branwen.

"If you would have done your job, then we wouldn't have that situation to begin with!" the black-haired man shot the same accusation he had used for the last week at the teacher.

"And if you had actually taught your niece to listen to her superior, she and her team wouldn't have left in the middle of the night to hunt a Grimm outside of their capabilities." the blond woman shot back.

Ozpin's eyes wandered to the four folders on his desk, all baring the names of the most likely newest names on the long list of people he had failed: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long.

It all happened a month ago. To train for the Vytal Festival the school had organized a Grimm hunt. A nearby village had requested helped to deal with a terrifyingly large Deathstalker, so the plan had been to let the students hunt the target together and to kill it. With Glynda as their supervisor Ozpin had seen no risk agreeing to this idea, knowing full well that the woman could deal with such a threat mostly on her own accord. But one team hadn't followed the rules.

In the night before the event four students had sneaked out of their lodgings, the four girls whose folders were lying before him. After being found missing the next morning Glynda changed the objective from "killing Grimm" to "find the missing students". Given their track record, it was easy to deduce for the woman that the girls had already entered the territory of the Grimm, wanting to kill it on their own.

But they were to slow. In a clearing in front of a giant cliff they found evidence of a fierce battle, but no sign of either huntresses or Grimm. Even after expanding the search radius and looking for a total of three days, both parties were still missing. In the end, the students and the teacher returned to Beacon, empty handed.

There was one person who didn't give up though, Qrow Branwen. He had been striving through the wood for three weeks now, killing each and any Grimm he came across, hoping to find his niece and her team. But there was nothing. And when he finally returned, his drinking habit became stronger than ever. And each and every day he approached Ozpin and Glynda, blaming them for the death of the girls. Which lead to the situation Ozpin was witnessing now.

Turning his back towards the bickering man and woman he observed the night sky.

"Miss Goodwitch? How was the weather report for this evening?" The other living beings in his office turned towards him.

"It should be a fine evening, nothing out of…" Glynda started, but her eyes widened when she saw a dark cloud developing quickly over the academy. "What in…"

The headmaster stood up. "Call the students. No one is leaving the building." he ordered, his demeanour changing from a nice teacher to the seasoned huntsman he was. "Then we will check out what is going on."

"And how do you plan on doing this?" the black-haired man asked.

"The centre of the clouds seems to be around the Main Avenue. If something is going to happen, it will be there." Without looking back, Ozpin went towards the elevator. He knew that Glynda would follow his orders. And Qrow would come, too. His pride as a huntsman would prevent him from staying behind.

When the three people left the protecting halls of the academy, the wind had already begun to howl with a high tone and began to tore at their clothes.

"What's going on here?" Qrow had to raise his voice to overtone the wind. "Oz, do you have any idea?"

But the headmaster was still. He had seen many things, but nothing except one person came close of being able to create such a phenomenon. And if she was here, then he prayed to the God Brothers, that they would be able to get as many people out of here as possible. "Something's coming." He didn't raise his voice, but the power of the wind was still unable to extinguish the words he spoke. Qrow raised his sword, Glynda her riding crop and Ozpin's hand grabbed his staff harder.

Then from one moment to the next a giant door of light appeared in front of them.

"What the…?" and from the light four figures appeared, all walking towards them. At the same moment, the strong wind currencies subsided.

"Halt." Ozpin spoke. "My name is Professor Ozpin from Beacon Academy. Whoever you are, state your name and your business with my school."

The shadows stopped for a moment, before the voice of a girl was heard "Professor Ozpin?"

Qrow's reaction was immediate. "Ruby?" He stepped forwards, just to be blocked by the headmaster.

"Uncle Qrow?" the same voice answered, before one of the shadows turned into a drill and rushed towards the group.

But the male huntsman only opened his arms and the drill turned into a black-haired girl with silver eyes, who fell into the arms of her uncle.

"We're back. We are really back." Now the rest of the three figures walk onto the street, following their leader Ruby Rose.

"No way." Glynda couldn't find any other words. They had looked for the girls everywhere and now they appeared in a door of light directly in Beacon Academy.

"So Luciferia really kept his promise." a girl with black-hair wearing a bowtie spoke. This was Blake Belladonna.

"Was the last thing he could do. At least he wasn't that empty in this regard." The blond girl besides her, Yang Xiao Long, continued. The two apparently finished a conversation they just had. "Hey, Qrow." she waved at her uncle.

Ozpin mustered the girls. All of them were wearing similar clothes, a red top with a white stripe in the middle of it, followed by a dark coloured skirt and stockings. It was clear that it was some kind of uniform, but he couldn't remember any school having such a dress code. But that wasn't the only changes he noticed. At Weiss side rested two rapiers, one he recognized as Myrtenaster, the other one a black steel mystery for him. And Yang's hair seemed shorter than before. Not much, but still enough to stand out in his eyes.

"Where have you been?" Glynda's strict voice teared him from his observation. "Do you have any idea what chaos your disappearance created? We thought you were dead! We thought…"

Ruby let go of her uncle and turned towards her enraged teacher. "I'm sorry." she apologized and bowed her head. "We wanted to help the people and that got us into a pretty big mess."

Glynda's gaze didn't soften.

"No really. It is a big tale full of friendship, betrayal, war…"

"Miss Rose, I don't think that anything you can tell us will explain how you ended up in the middle of Beacon Academy at night through a door of light after being gone without a trace for a whole month."

Suddenly Yang started laughing. "A… door… of… light?" she spoke between the laughter.

"And what is so funny, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Knowing her, it has to do with what one of our friends once said." Weiss answered in place of the blond girl.

She pulled Myrtenaster from her side, holding the blade forwards like facing an enemy. "We stand before a great darkness, but remember, darkness can't exist where light is. Let's be that light!" she intoned with a deep voice.

"But I didn't think that he meant literally opening doors of light." Yang interjected, before laughing again.

"Professor?" Glynda turned towards the headmaster, who had a small smile on his lips.

"I feel, that this night has turned out to be really good. Let's enjoy it and talk more about what happened tomorrow."

With an overjoyed Qrow and four returned students, the next day would become pretty interesting none the less.

_xXx_

_Welcome to my first story. I hope you enjoyed the read and leave a comment, be it a critic or a supportive one. This story was inspired by "Fairies of the Shattered Moon" by TheMaster4444 (Link: s/13022667/1/Fairies-of-the-Shattered-Moon). I hope to see you when chapter 2 comes around._


	2. Chapter 2

The next day started with a beautiful morning. And while the first students of Beacon Academy woke up and began their day, there was already a group of people sitting in the headmaster's office, talking. Around a big table, which was brought up thanks to a certain professor Semblance, Team RWBY, Professor Ozpin and Qrow Branwen were seated, having an early breakfast.

"If this is what happens when I go missing, maybe I'll do it again." Yang spoke while eating.

"I hope you aren't serious." Qrow answered. "The effect of your disappearance on your families and friends was hard. And you want to do it again just to get some food?" He had spoken a little bit with the girls during the last night, but until now they had avoided the big question: Where had Team RWBY been this last month?

"It was a joke." The blond brawler of the team responded to her uncle, but before she could continue, Weiss chimed in.

"But why do we get this special treatment? Shouldn't we be in suspension? Or getting ready for classes?"

Ozpin sighed. "It's true that under normal circumstances your disobedience would be punished. But I feel like your absence wasn't your plan to begin with. So, I want to hear your story first before making my decision." He looked at his scroll. "Would you help me clean the table?" he then asked while raising from his desk.

The girls nodded and soon the table was clean. It really helped that the headmaster had a little elevator installed in his office if he needed some coffee for a late-night shift or an early meal before an important event.

After finishing the cleaning, the group reassemble around the table.

"So, shall we begin?" Ruby asked.

But Ozpin shook his head. "We are still missing one person."

"Oh, so the empty chair belongs to Professor Goodwitch, right?" Blake asked. She was the third person who witnessed their return after all.

But Ozpin shook his head once again. "Glynda will take care of school duties for today. She might join us later, though." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, when the elevator gave a soft *ping*. "Ah, it seems our final guest has arrived." The headmaster smiled, as a white-haired woman, clad in a white coat entered the room.

"Specialist Winter Schnee reports for duty."

Ozpin chuckled. "I was actually waiting for General Ironwood."

"The General excuses himself. Your call last night came in pretty late, so his schedule was already full. I'm here as his substitute. May I ask why you called for General Ironwood?" Her full concentration was on Ozpin, so her face turned to shock when she heard a familiar voice.

"Sister?"

Turning towards the other people.

"Weiss?" There she sat, her little sister. "What is the meaning of this, Ozpin? The last information we got from you was, that Weiss was MIA. Why is she sitting here, now?" her tone got as cold as ice.

"Hey lady, come down." Qrow stood up and joined the adults. "The girls returned yesterday evening. There was no way we could have predicted something like that and informed you glorious general ahead of time."

Winter whirled around. "And what does someone like you know about stuff like that? The Schnee Dust Company is in turmoil since the heiress was thought to be dead, the military…" before she could continue however, Ozpin intervened.

"Please, come down. Team RWBY has returned alive and well. So, don't ruin this by arguing like an old married couple."

"I'M NOT OLD!" "WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" both huntsman and specialist replied at once.

And yet Ozpin smiled. The two had stopped their quarrel, so now he could press the matter forward. "I called for General Ironwood because I wanted to hear Team RWBY's story before deciding my next step. Since you are here as his substitute, this will now be your job." He showed her to the empty seat.

The Atlesian Specialist nodded, returning to her professional behaviour.

"And you too, Qrow. I'm not getting any younger." The huntsman scoffed, but followed.

The four huntresses in training looked at each other. "So, shall we begin?"

Finally, Ozpin nodded. "Let's start from the night you went missing."

*1 month earlier*

"What are you waiting for? We have an important mission tomorrow and I don't want any of you dragging us down because you didn't go to bed!" Weiss was lying in her bed, that the inn they rested in had provided.

She was, however, the only member of her team to do so. Ruby, Blake and Yang were sitting in the middle of the room playing cards. Dressed.

"Don't worry, Weiss, we will be fit and ready for action." Yang answered, as she played one of her cards.

"And we will be the first to find that evil Grim and take it down." Ruby followed up with an energetic voice.

With a sigh Weiss lay down, just to shot up a moment later. "What do you plan?" she asked. Her voice was low.

"I don't know what you mean?" the Faunus of the group replied.

"Don't 'I don't know what you mean?' me! Why do you think we will be the first to find that Grimm?"

The three girls looked each other in the eyes, a movement Weiss noticed immediately.

"You plan on sneaking out, do you?"

First drops of sweat were forming on the foreheads of her teammates.

"You plan on going against Professor Goodwitch's order and start hunting now. In the middle of the night!" her voice got louder.

"Be quiet!" Ruby retaliated.

"That means I'm right." Her team leader had made no move to deny her accusation.

"Yeah. I mean, we are huntresses." Ruby began.

"In training" Weiss responded.

"And as huntresses we have to give it our all everyday and every time." Yang continued.

"We are still in training." Weiss objection went unheard.

"And with a Grimm this close to a settlement, we have to do everything in our power to protect the citizens." Blake spoke.

"We are under Professor Goodwitch's watch. We will get into trouble." Weiss made one last attempt to convince her friends to stop their plan, but Ruby appeared in a burst of speed before her.

"Do you want to leave these poor souls to undefended? Do you want to leave this world to the creatures of darkness? Do you want everyone to die?"

Weiss looked at Ruby's face unimpressed. "No." she finally answered. "But knowing you, this wouldn't change your mind." She removed her blanket, showing that she, too, was wearing her combat clothes.

"Weiss you…?"

"I've known you long enough now to be prepared for such an event."

Sneaking out of the building was surprisingly simple. And entering the woods even simpler.

"Alright, do we have any clue where the target is hiding?" Being able to raise her voice again Ruby enjoyed this moment to it's fullest.

"The Grimm was seen somewhere around a clearing to the east. Let me go first." Blake responded. Thanks to her Faunus heritage, she was able to use night vision, giving her the capability to lead her teammates through the wood.

The walk took several minutes, but they reached their destination without much trouble.

"At least they have some light here." Weiss spoke, but then she noticed the absence of Ruby.

The silver eyed girl stood before a giant stone statue, which was illuminated by the light of a single lantern. "Wow. Who do you think this statute represents?"

"Ruby! Watch out!"

Turning her head towards her sister she noticed the moving light and used her Semblance to get out of the way of the attack. Just to jump over a giant claw that tried to crush her. Landing on her feet, the young huntress in training came face to face with a Death Stalker Grimm.

"How did it get here so fast?" Ruby yelled at her friends, all while evading the claws of the monster.

"The lantern was it's stinger!" Weiss answered. "And since you came close to it while exploring…"

"HELP ME!"

This brought movement into the three girls. Myrtenaster's chamber rotated and with a yell, Weiss thrusted her weapon into the ground, creating multiple spikes of ice racing against the nevermore. At the same time, Yang and Blake ran at the Grimm

"One, two, three!" and attacked it simultaneously, forcing it back, followed by the ice crashing into the Grim.

"And that's how it's done." the blond brawler mused.

But the enemy wasn't dead. It used its tail as a whip, sending Blake flying. And while Yang was distracted by that, a giant claw smashed into her side, throwing her back, too.

Suddenly Ruby appeared behind the Grim, her scythe ready to strike at the beast's stinger. Just for the monster to pull the appendage sideward and out of Crescent Rose range. At the same time Weiss came towards Blake.

"Are you all right?" she asked while helping the Faunus up.

The black-haired girl nodded.

On the other side of the battlefield Yang threw herself back into the fight. "Hey, a lady doesn't like to be ignored!" she called out and punched the closest claw with all her might. But it had no effect. Turning it's head towards the brawler, the monster was then distracted as multiple bullets hit it's side.

"Get away from my sister!" Ruby had changed her scythe into a rifle and fired shot after shot.

Then Blake joined in. Using Gamble Shroud she also fired a volley of bullets at the scorpion like creature. "We need to buy some time to let Weiss prepare for 'Meteor'" she yelled over the combat noises.

The two sisters nodded. Then the three girls charged. Dodging under the Grimm's attack and tried to get through it's claws, which it used as shields. And unfortunately, the creature was pretty good at it.

"It's finished. The trap is laid in front of the monument." Weiss voice was the signal they had waited for.

With the instruction given, the huntresses all lined up in front of the statue while yelling at the Grimm. Seeing his victims right in front of him, the creature of darkness charged.

"When the hide is too thick…" Yang began and grabbed the left side of Blake's hairband,

"…then try the underbelly." Blake followed up while grabbing the right side.

Ruby was standing in the middle, the largest part of Blake's hairband under her feet.

"And once the enemy flies,…" she stated. A dark glyph appeared under the Death Stalker, throwing it multiple feet into the air, and turning it upside down.

"…It is time to call upon a strike from the heavens!" the three girls yelled and then Ruby was thrown into the air through Blake and Yang pulling on the bow.

Using her Semblance, the huntress wearing the red cape appeared right above the still airborne Grimm, putting Crescent Rose into Scythe mode and started spinning. Like a deadly spinning top, she closed the gap between Grimm and herself. This was their victory.

Or it should have been, but the Grimm was smarter. When Ruby came closer, it's stinger shot forward, nearly impaling the young girl, and throwing her against the statue. The sudden stop of her momentum, the strong attack and the hard hit against the tough material took their toll on the leader of Team RWBY. Still disorientated and hurt, she would be an easy kill for the Grimm.

"Not my SISTER!" around Yang erupted a fiery Aura. Ignoring any danger for herself, or that Weiss and Blake were also trying to get to the silver eyed girl, she shot forward. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, when she saw the Grimm standing up after a hard landing. She pushed her body beyond her limits when it raised it's claw to smash her little sister. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" with all her might she punched the Death Stalker and send it flying. Over Ruby's head directly into the monument behind her. But the statue didn't fall or shattered.

Instead suddenly all the girls found themselves unable to move. But not just them. The Death Stalker was trying to move it's limbs, but no matter what it did, it didn't work. Heck, it didn't even fell and was suspended in the air. And then they heard a mechanical voice:

"No contractor detected… Searching for Awakened Knight… Searched Failed… Seaching for an active test… Searched successful… Preparing transportation towards the Ashen Trial…"

Test? Ashen Trail? What did it all mean?

"Preparation complete. Connection to the Spirit Path successful. Route secured. Beginning transportation."

A flash covered the girls and the Grimm. And from one instant to the next, they were gone. And the clearing was silent once more.

Ruby felt like she was being pushed through a tube. She wanted to scream in pain, maybe even to throw up. But there were no sounds coming out of her throat. What about the others? Were they ok? And the Grimm? Would it attack them once this sensation ended? Would this sensation even end?

Suddenly multiple images appeared before her eyes. A blue haired girl wielding a giant sword, a blond-haired boy with a smug grin on his face, a tall brown-haired young man who seems contempt with himself. And then a boy with dark hair, a flaming sword in hand rushing towards her

"Flames, gather around my blade!"

He rushed at her, no, past her and attacked something behind her. But unable to move her body, she had no idea what he was fighting. Maybe the Grimm? Maybe he was another student at a huntsman academy. Suddenly she regained control over her body, followed by the touch of cold stone beneath her. A wave of tiredness washed over her. And the last thing she saw before darkness consumed her, were the boy from her vision standing over a defeated human like creature, that disintegrated while the boy sheeted his blade.

xXx

**Hello and welcome back to "Trails of the Huntresses". First, I want to thank all of you who faved the stroy, followed it and left a review. It made me happy that this story seems to be so well received. A special thanks goes to the user Shashenka, who helped me with some ideas regarding this story. You are a great person and I hope that this chapter will also be to your liking.**

**Regarding this chapter: Team RWBY starts telling Ozpin, Qrow and Winter about their adventures in Zemuria, starting with the circumstances bringing them there. I really hope that you enjoyed the fight against the Death Stalker, given that it is my first action scene in a story like this. And next time the journey in Zemuria will begin.**

**As always, I will be happy if you leave a comment with ideas, questions and criticism. Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

Rays of sunlight woke Weiss from the darkness of unconsciousness. The first thing she noticed was the bed she was lying on. The second thing she noticed were her teammates, who were all lying on similar sleeping utensils. And the third thing she noticed was the absence of her weapon.

Raising up the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company looked at her surroundings. It was a small infirmary, the furniture seemed to be more old school than what she was used to. She also spotted a big window and multiple people in front of it. Apparently, they had been in a conversation before her awakening, but now a total of twelve eyes were looking at her.

"Good morning, young lady." An old lady wearing a white coat was the first to speak.

It was obvious that she was a nurse and so Weiss made no move when the woman came closer and performed some simple medical tests.

"Excuse me, but where am I?" the heiress asked, addressing the other inhabitants of the room with her question.

"Well, young lady, you are in the infirmary of Thors Military Academy." It was an older man with a dignified voice who answered.

"And in which kingdom?" Weiss asked, since the name of this institution didn't ring a bell for her.

"I don't like where this is going." A woman with fuchsia red hair spoke quietly, but still loud enough for the huntress in training to hear.

"Which kingdom? My dear, you aren't in a mere kingdom." a blond man wearing mostly red answered her this time. He reminded her a bit of Jaune Arc when he tried to get a date with her. "Welcome to the Erebonian Empire." He spread his arms like we was a merchant offering his goods.

Weiss looked at the man with an open mouth. He was worse than Jaune, if he thought that he could impress her with such a behaviour. Not to mention the lie he had just told her. Everybody knew that there were only four kingdoms on Remnant, and none of them was called Erebonia.

"Excuse my interruption, your highness,…" a dark-haired man wearing a purple uniform intervened. "but I would rather know, where this girl and her companions come from and how they ended up in the Old Schoolhouse."

'Great,' Weiss thought 'Another idiot.' His performance and his tone was convincing, but a lie was a lie. And once she would reveal her heritage, it would be a rough awakening for these people. "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." She didn't say more, wanting to see the reaction of the people around her. But the reaction she received wasn't the one she was expecting.

"Does anyone know a 'Dust Company'?" the red-clad man asked and everyone else shook their head.

"What?" Weiss got mad. "This farce has gone on long enough. There is no Erebonian Empire. There are only four kingdoms: Vale, Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas! And the Schnee Dust Company is the largest Dust producing company in the world. And since Dust is practically used everywhere, you have to had heard the name. And if you don't stop this nonsense right now…" she used her Semblance to create a white Glyph in front of her. She wanted to intimidate the liars. If they were relying on an obvious lie, they couldn't be a threat to a huntress in training.

Just to remedy her opinion one moment later when she felt the tip of a blade at her throat. The last man in the room, a blond one wearing a similar purple uniform like the dark-haired man, was standing right in front of her, his weapon only inches away from her skin.

"Instructor Neithard." The nurse spoke up, seemingly unaware of the situation around her. "This is a place of healing. Sheath your weapon at once, before you make a bigger mess here."

"I'm sorry, Instructor Beatrix, but the actions of this girl show an aggressive nature." the now named Neithardt replied, his blade unmoving.

"This girl has just woken up. She is most likely confused and overwhelmed being in an unfamiliar place." The voice of Beatrix sounded like steel. "Put your weapon down now, or do I have to remind you, who is in charge of this room?"

For a moment the eyes of woman and man met, before the blond pulled his weapon back.

"And you, young lady." The nurse turned towards Weiss, "This isn't a place of conflict. If you want to fight, do it outside."

"I'm sorry." Neithardt turned towards Beatrix. "But with Prince Olivert here we can't take any risks."

The eyes of the huntress scanned the rest of the room. The black-haired military man sheathed his blade, from where he had drawn it. The purple haired woman took on a more relaxed stance. She finally noticed, how close she had come to get her companions and herself killed. Her attempt at intimidation had backfired.

"Come one, all's well that ends well." The red clad man, now known as Prince Olivert, spoke up. "Given your words now I don't believe you stem from Zemuria, Miss Schnee?"

Weiss shook her head. "I'm from Atlus, and Zemuria also doesn't exist."

"I'm afraid that this is more than a simple misunderstanding." The prince sighed. "You see, all the names you have given us, Schnee, Dust, Atlus, we don't know about these things and places. There is only one continent here, the continent of Zemuria."

"But on Remnant…"

"Remnant? Is that the name of the world you come from?" Olivert asked, not giving the girl time to start another argument.

As an answer, the heiress simply nodded.

"My prince, you can't believe this girl." The black-haired soldier asked, but Olivert simply laughed.

"My dear Mueller, during my time in Liberl I had my own experiences with other worlds and other dimensions. So yes, I believe this girl. Since this would also explain their sudden appearance in the dungeon of the Old Schoolhouse." The Prince answered and for a moment Weiss thought about changing her opinion on him.

The soldier simply nodded and stepped back. Just when the red clad man tried to start again, the other members of Team RWBY started to move. Deciding that telling the story once instead of multiple times the group waited for all of them to wake up. Thankfully the three girls were easier to convince than Weiss herself, mostly thanks to Weiss vouching for the Prince for now.

The next two hours were a long story about Zemuria, the most prominent powers on the continent and about Thors. The girls asked all kind of questions, and the Instructors and Prince gave them their answers to the best of their abilities. It all ended when Olivert invited the girls to join the Academy as members of Class VII.

"But we aren't even from here. Why should we join a school?" Blake asked, the Faunus still suspicious.

"Well, since you aren't from here, you have no money. And with no money, you have no place to stay or to move." Olivert explained.

"We can work as huntresses. We can exterminate monsters and…" Ruby began, but the Prince interrupted.

"And get the attention of people that you don't want to mess with. You definitely aren't from Zemuria. People will notice that and if the wrong kind hears about you, you can count yourself lucky if you aren't killed or worse." The voice of the erebonian noble was dead serious. "Here at least you have a place to stay, something to eat and people who can help you."

"But we have to go to school." Ruby whined, not thrilled to be taught by these people. They were so serious and stiff, like Glynda Goodwitch times 100 strict.

"Tell me," the woman who had been introduced as Sara Valestein suddenly asked. "how much does a bread cost?"

The huntresses looked at each other, unsure what to answer.

Sara gave a small laugh. "How do you want to survive if you don't even now the currency and prices of this country? Sending you away now would be your death. So a little bit of school doesn't sound so bad in comparison?" she continued giving the girls an encouraging smile.

Having no response, the inhabitants of Remnant remained silent. Finally Ruby gave her friends a short look, before giving her answer. "We agree. But you have to promise us that you will help us finding a way home."

Olivert nodded. "I believe that the way home may lie in the depth of the old schoolhouse. If you help Class VII out, you may find a way sooner or later. I'm sure about that."

"But you won't promise it?" the Faunus asked.

The erebonian noble shook his head. "Unfortunately even we don't know all secrets about that place. I won't lie to you, there might be no way back for you at all inside the building." Team RWBYs looked at him scared. "But that doesn't mean we won't try. The world outside this school is big. If the answer isn't here, then she is somewhere out there. And looking for it with friends will be a much richer experience than to simply start searching alone."

"Especially since this school will teach us more about this country and it's infrastructure. So even if the Old Schoolhouse is a bust, we can survive on our own in this strange world." Weiss continued the Prince's thoughts. "It's a certain win for us, no matter the outcome."

Laying their doubts to rest for now, the group decided to come up with a fake backstory for the girls, to protect them from the 'wrong crowd of people' how Olivert liked to call it. According to this story, the girls stem from a place called "North Ambria", where they grew up on the battlefield, not knowing their real home. Mueller Vander, the black-haired soldier and bodyguard to the Prince, stumbled upon them during a secret mission for Olivert. Being impressed by their combat capabilities, he introduced them to Olivert and Principal Van Dyck. One thing lead to another and the girls had been accepted into Thors Military Academy.

"Instructor Valestein will tell you more about North Ambria at a later time, so that you can give some information about your 'homeland'. Besides the people in this room and Class VII, no one will know about your true heritage." Olivert said. "You will also get some extra lessons in history and political education, so that your limited knowledge about Erebonia won't be discovered that easily."

"What about our weapons?" Ruby asked. She couldn't handle the thought to be separated from Crescent Rose any longer.

"Your weapons will be handed to you tomorrow. Tonight you should introduce yourself to your new classmates." Olivert finished his lecture. With a smile he stood up. "I leave them in your capable hand, Instructor Valestein. I wish you a nice year, young ladys."

Given the young girls a heartwarming smile, the Prince stood up.

"We will do everything we can to help them." Principal Van Dyck ensured the noble, while he shook his head.

"I know." was the simple answer.

With this the assembly ended. The instructors and the prince left the room, until only Sara, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang remained.

"All right, let's get started." with a quick hand gesture the former bracer told the girls to hurry up. She left the room for a moment and pulled a small device out of her pocket. "I give you five minutes." She called to the girls, before the door closed.

Gathering their belongings, the huntresses prepared for departure, while staying completely silent. The fact that they were in a new world, with no way to contact their friends and families, weighed heavy on their thought now that they were alone.

"Do you think we will find a way back?" Ruby asked her older sister.

"You heard the old man and the prince." Yang responded, trying to keep up her happy demeanour to protect her younger sibling from her own dark thoughts, "They will help us and we will find a way back. I promise you that."

Ruby wanted to protest, but Weiss came to Yang's aid. "And think about it this way. This gives us the possibilities to learn even more. We can become stronger and wiser when we finally return to Beacon. And with this power we can protect more people." she tried to cheer up her team leader.

"Thanks Weiss, Yang." The girl with the red cape told her friends.

"Everything is set and ready to go." the sudden opening of the door and Sara's happy voice teared them out of their thoughts. "Let me show you were you will stay for the next time."

Following the woman, the huntresses left the main building and went into Trista, the small city right in front of the academy. Their eyes wandered left and right, the big church where a goddess called Aidios was worshipped, a small stream flowing through town, a Café were some people in green and white were seated. Everything was new.

Finally reaching their destination, the Instructor stopped before a red stone building. "This will be your dormitory from today on. The rest of you classmates also live here, so you aren't all alone in this big building." She gave them a wink. "And that's include myself, too. If you have any questions or problems, you will find someone to help you." She turned towards the doors and entered the building.

With a little hesitation Ruby followed, after her came Weiss, Blake and Yang.

"Ah Instructor." a male spoke to the woman in a cocktail dress when they entered. "You told us that something big is happening."

But before Sara could answer, Ruby appeared in a storm of rose petals before the young black-haired man. "I remember you." she was overtaken by excitement. "You are the guy who lit his sword on flames. That was so cool!"

**xXx**

**And here is the next chapter for this story. Thanks for all of you who favoured this story. Also a huge thanks to InfiniteStarz, mega1987 and JohnJoestar17 for giving me an important advice regarding the paragraphs in this story. I tried to implemented their critics in this chapter.**

**What else is there to say? **

**This chapter was hard to write. My first thought was simply letting the conversation between Weiss and the Instructors/Olivert play out and write everything down, but it got a huge mess pretty quickly. So I tried to stick to the important parts and summed up everything else.**

**Regarding the 'fake backstory' for Team RWBY: Since they appeared out of nowhere, Olivert wants to protect them from people like Ouroboros and Chancellor Osbourne. He knows, that both parties can find out that the girls aren't from North Ambria, but with Mueller and his voice as 'proof', he hopes to keep at least Osbourne in check. **

**Next chapter is the first full meeting with Class VII and maybe the Practical Trial before the Nord Section. As always leave a review if you liked this chapter, leave a critic if you didn't like it and have a nice day.**

**P.S. There is one question I want to give to you, my dear readers. This regards the pairings. I'm thinking about three possible pairing for Rean in this story:**

**1\. Alisa**

**2\. Emma**

**3\. Princess Alfin**

**The only pairing I'm sure of at the moment is: **

**Elliot x Fie (I like these two together)**

**So, if you like you can leave a vote for Rean's pairing as well as suggestions for other pairings in this story in your comments.**

**Thank you and have a nice day**


	4. Chapter 4

Once Yang entered the building, she quickly took a liking to the place. While it appeared like an old building without running water from the outside, the interior made herself feel cozy. The eyes of the blond girl wandered to her sister, who stood in front of a couch group where multiple people sat. Their red uniforms identified them as their future classmates.

"Come down." the black-haired boy Ruby was talking to finally got out. "I can't answer a single question if you just keep asking." Even though the boy tried to keep his cool, the red clad huntresses many questions out of the blue had overwhelmed him. Thankfully a saviour appeared.

"Come down, sis." Yang stepped forward and grabbed her sister by the neck, lifting her a few centimetres of the ground like a cat. She then turned towards the people on the couch. "I'm sorry, but she can become a real handful when it comes to weapon."

"Because weapons are so cool!" Ruby said, while trying to escape her sister's grip to no avail. "Their abilities, capabilities, looks, personalities!" the red caped girl started to swoon.

"At least she is devoted." a blue haired girl stated, her voice refined and calm. "I would like to see how good you can use your weapon knowledge in a fight."

"Well, I'm using a scythe, which also is a sniper rifle. It is called Crescent Rose and look…" Ruby's hand went to her back, where her weapon would usually rest. Just to find the holster empty.

"Have you already forgotten?" Weiss and Blake had finished their short inspection of the foyer and came towards the group. "They will return our weapons tomorrow." The white clad huntress in training reminded her team leader, which lead to Ruby giving the blue haired girl a sheepish smile.

"I don't want to appear rude, but who are you people?" It was a blond boy with an air of dignity around him.

"Jusis, these are the girls we found…" a red-haired petite boy tried to remind the now named Jusis.

But the blond boy simply shrugged him of. "I know where we found them, Elliot." he answered. "But it is custom to introduce oneself during a first meeting, especially if you enter a building that doesn't belong to you. At the same time, I doubt that the four girls want to be addressed as 'the girls from the Old Schoolhouse' either."

"Opps, sorry." Ruby rubbed her head. "I just got carried away it seems. I'm Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you, future classmates." she continued, smiling at the students in front of her.

"Future Classmates?" the entire group responded in shock.

"What?" Ruby got confused. "Aren't you Class VII? Weren't you informed about our stay?" Maybe they were in the wrong building. But Professor Valestein had led them here. Was this a trick? Or were they bad guys and they would dispose of them here and now when they were unarmed. She turned around to seek help from their teacher, just to find her gone.

"Now I get it." a small girl with silver hair spoke up. "This was the surprise she promised us." All eyes turned to the girl, who didn't seem bothered at all.

"A promised surprise?" Blake asked confused.

"Well, it would fit Instructor Sarah's personality." Elliot said. "And given that she called all of us and told us to stay here for the evening, it would definitely make sense."

"Could you please stop talking like we aren't in the room? What does that mean, it would fit her personality? Why isn't that woman here and introduces us? Why weren't you informed that we would join your class?" Weiss hated being left in the dark. And her opinion on the teacher just went down the drain.

"Instructor Sarah possibly thought that it would be a good idea to break the ice without her." the black-haired boy answered. He stood up and reached Ruby his hand for a handshake. "I'm Rean Schwazer, member of Class VII." he introduced himself.

"I'm Elliot Craig." the ginger boy introduced himself next. "It's nice to meet you."

"Jusis Albarea." the blond boy said next.

"Albarea? Like in one of these big thingies here in the empire?" Ruby asked.

"It's called the four Great Houses and yes, I stem from that Albarea family." Jusis complied, seemingly irked by Ruby describing the Houses as things.

"Well, excuse my sister, we only heard about them this afternoon." Yang spoke next. "I'm Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet you, Albrorea." she drew the last word out extensively, which led to a scoff by the Erebonian noble.

"You are sisters, but don't share the same family name?" the blue haired girl asked curiously.

"Same father, different mothers. That's all." Yang explained, missing the reaction of both Jusis and Rean on these words.

"Well, then let me introduce myself." The blue-haired girl accepted the explanation without asking more. "I am Laura S. Arseid." And directly to Ruby she added "And as classmates I am more than happy to learn more about your weapon and your style. Let strife for greater heights together."

"I'm Blake Belladonna." the next huntress introduces herself. "And thank you for this warm welcome."

"What about your bow?"

Blake's eyes went directly to the silver haired girl. Panic raising inside her. "What about it?" she asked while trying to stay cool.

"It moved. Not by much, but…"

"There is nothing to see. It was just the wind." Blake interrupted before the girl could continue. She didn't want these people to find out her heritage just yet. Maybe later, if she knew that she could trust them. Or maybe she could go through this without anyone finding out. She definitely hoped for the last one.

"And Fie Claussell. That's my name." the last member on the couch revealed. Apparently she immediately lost interest in the huntresses, since she turned her head towards something on the table.

"And I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress…" Weiss began, but stopped herself shortly. "Just Weiss Schnee. I expect the best from all of you." In this world she was a nobody. Her name and status meant nothing. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't give it her all.

"Well, you won't get far in Thors unless you are giving it your all." Elliot remarked. "I mean, even our bookworms are studying late to keep up with the curriculum."

"And that doesn't include Combat Classes." Rean agreed. "But we should call the others down here, too. So that you girls get to know all of us."

"That's wonderful, Master Rean." a sweet voice was heard from behind the girls.

Turning around Ruby and her teammates were greeted with the picture of a maid. Wearing a violet maid outfit and a white apron together with a heart-warming smile, the woman bowed before the girls. "I am Sharon Krueger, caretaker of Class VII." she introduces herself.

"You've got a maid?" Ruby and Yang shouted at the same time.

"Can you be please be silent down there!" an angry voice was heard from above. "You can't really learn with all the commotion down there!" an annoyed boy with glasses came down the stairs. "And I hope for you that the explanation is good or else…"

"Or else what, Regnitz?" Jusis countered, a smile on his lips. "Are you going to give us a piece of your mind? In front of our new classmates?"

"You little…Wait, new classmates?" the boy called Regnitz finally saw the new girls in the room. "You are the girls from the Old Schoolhouse. What are you doing here?" he asked baffled, his anger replaced by confusion.

"Like Jusis said, we are going to join Class VII from today on, Regnitz." Blake answered. Her eyes were fixated on the boy. Something about him felt familiar, but not in the good kind. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"I understood that part." the dark green-haired boy said. "I'm not dumb." He turned his back to them. "And it is Machias, not Regnitz."

"Oh, so you grace me with the honour of using your first name?" the voice of the son of Albarea was heard.

"That offer was for the ladies, not for a noble like you." was the answer. The glasses wearing boy started to head up the stairs, when Sharon spoke up.

"Can you please call Master Gaius. Dinner is ready. I will talk to Lady Alisa and Lady Emma as well as showing the new members of Class VII their rooms on the second floor." the maid declared. "And the rest of you can go and sit down. It will only take a minute."

With these words the group dispersed. Rean, Elliot, Jusis, Laura and Fie went into the kitchen while Machias, Sharon and Team RWBY went upstairs. At the first floor, the boy gave a short nod before turning right, leaving the females alone in their ascend to the next floor.

"Ok, girls. Once we get to our room, we will see what we have and the it is decoration time!" Ruby declared happily.

"As much as I would like to see it, that won't happen." Sharon intervened. Seeing the shocked faces of Team RWBY, the maid continued. "All of you are getting separate rooms, there will be no sharing. This allows for a better learning atmosphere and personal space."

"But we are a Team and have to stick together." the leader of Team RWBY argued. Her teammates agreed. It was one of the rules at Beacon that a Team had to be together. They would eat together, learn together and even sleep in the same room. There wasn't even an exception for teams featuring males and females. Having adopted to such a lifestyle, returning to single rooms felt wrong.

"I'm sorry, but such are the rules." Sharon replied, while guiding the girls through the floor to the end of the corridor. After passing two doors on the left and right, she turned around. Behind her were a total of 8 doors left, four on each side. "The rooms behind me are currently unused. You may choose a room of your liking. I will take care of everything else."

Unsure the four huntresses stepped forward. Yang finally took the initiative and stepped towards the closest door on the right. "I take this room." she declared, without even opening it.

Sharon smiled. "A good choice, Lady Yang." she praised the blond girl.

Inspired by Yang's courage, the rest of the team chose their rooms. Ruby decided to take the room next to her sister, while Blake and Weiss chose the rooms on the opposite side.

"On three!" Yang stated, all girls having one hand at the doorknobs. "One, two, tree!" the girls pushed the doors open at the same time, looking at a bleak room containing a bed, a shelf and a table.

"It may look bleak at the moment, but once you bring in your own personal touch, it will be a perfect place for you to stay." Sharon encouraged them with a smile. "I'm sure that once you settled in, you will find the pieces you need to turn these rooms into your own space."

The maid then turned around. "But I'm sure your hungry at this point. You can go downstairs now. I will inform Lady Alisa and Lady Emma."

"We would like to accompany you." Ruby answered back. "To meet our new classmates."

Sharon's answer was a simple smile, before she stepped towards one of the doors and knocked.

Emma Millstein and Alisa Reinford were just as nice as the rest of the group in Ruby's opinion. The brown-haired Emma appeared to be kind, but at the same time pretty shy. Even though she had a body that could rival Yang's.

Alisa on the other hand reminded her a little bit of Weiss when she first met her. She appeared confident and bossy, but at the same time she seemed to have a hidden kindness. This was made clear when she snapped at Sharon when she knocked, but thanking her just a few seconds later for telling her about the dinner.

And once they reached the stairs, Sara came out of her room to join them, too. Of course, she had to listen to Weiss calling her irresponsible, but the older woman didn't seem to care. Instead she asked, if they already made some new friends.

Finally returning to ground level, the girls from another world got to know their last new class member, a tall, brown haired boy named Gaius Worzel. Once more Ruby couldn't help but compare him to someone she knew, in this case Lie Ren. They both appeared to be the calm rock in the storming sea around them.

Once everyone was seated, Sharron brought everyone a glass with water. The only exception was Instructor Sarah, who had a bear in front of her and ordered a speech. All eyes of the Zemurian members of the class turned towards Emma, their class president.

With a sigh she stood up, but before she could begin, Ruby butted in. "What about Sharon?" she asked, given that the maid was the only person in the room without a drink.

"Thank you, but don't mind me." the caretaker of the dorm answered. "This is your welcome party." She didn't mind the shocked look of the other students when she stated that this would be a party. "So enjoy it."

Ruby shook her head. "This party is for all of Class VII, right? And as our caretaker you are just as much a member of the class like everyone else in this room." she declared. "Please, Sharon, do it for us."

For a moment the room was silent, before the rest of the people agreed.

"As you wish." With these words Sharon went into the kitchen and got herself a glass.

After returning, Emma stood up once more, raising her glass. "Let's welcome the new members of our class." she began. "When Class VII was formed, we decided to join it out of our own free will. We chose to strife the hard path of a completely new class at a military academy. And at the same time, we decided, that we would help each other to achieve our goals." With every word the confidence of the class president seemed to grow. "With you four joining us, new hardships will await you, but also new friendships and experiences. But you are not alone, no one is in this class. If you have questions, we will help you finding the answer. If you need help, you will find it here. And if you need someone to laugh or to cry, even then we will be there."

"I didn't think she would be able to give such a speech." Yang whispered to Ruby.

Emma raised her glass. "Let's work together to overcome any obstacle, let's grow together to become the best Erebonia…"

"And Remnant!" Yang called out.

"… the best Erebonia and Remnant have to offer." she finished her speech.

All at once they raised their glasses, teacher, students and maid.

"CHEERS!"

**xXx**

**Thanks for reading this new chapter of "Trails of Huntresses". The first meeting with Class VII is done and I'm sorry for not including Gaius, Alisa and Emma all that much. It just felt like the chapter would simply go on forever if I would include these three.**

**I also extended the size of the Class VII dorm. Given that the dorm fits exactly the numbers of students Class VII has at max. This means Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all have their own rooms and there is some extra space (4 rooms for female students, 8 for male students if you want to know) **

**Similar to the last chapter, writing this chapter felt a bit tiresome, but now the basic rules and knowledge should be set and with the start of the next chapter I hope I can bring in more action.**

**To the Guest who called me out for letting Mueller questoning Olivert, well, I just got busted. I only started playing Trails in the Sky I and read it on the wiki that Olivert was involved in the entire scene. But I didn't check on Mueller, so yeah, my fault here. I will try to keep a look out for such things in the future.**

**Here are also a few things I want to mention regarding this chapter and this story in general:**

**1\. Class VII knows nothing about where RWBY comes from, just that they appeared in the Old Schoolhouse. They will learn about it however at the beginning of the next chapter, simply because as their classmates it is better for them to know about the lie than to accidentally screw it up. That's why Emma didn't mentioned Remnant in her speech prior to Yang's intervention.**

**2\. Team RWBY will also get their Arcus units and uniforms in the next chapter.**

**3\. There may be scenes in the future, where it may seem like I bash RWBY. This is not the case, since i don't want this story to be a bashing fic. But there are heavy differences between Beacon and Thors imo. Thors is imo much stricter and the students have less free time than in Beacon. This will lead to some problems for RWBY since the girls come from a different school with different rules**

**4\. RWBY will be split up during the field trips, but the story will mostly follow Rean's group (told by the companions of the respective trips in the overall plot). This is mostly through the simple fact that most interesting things happen to Rean's group.**

**5\. There will be problems between RWBY and Class VII, similar to the clashes in the game.**

**And with this I will say goodbye for this chapter. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.**


	5. Chapter 5

Ruby was standing besides her new classmates on the field of Thors Military Academy. It was their third day here and she slowly started to accept her landing here. The teachers were strict and the subjects pretty demanding, but the zemurian part of the class quickly agreed to help team RWBY in their studies. They even came to their extra lessons, which awoke a feeling of acceptance inside of the young girl.

And she couldn't ask for better help. During the lunchbreak of this very day the academy had posted the scores of the midterm exams. This allowed the young huntress to see the individual score of each of her classmates as well as the overall score of Class VII. The team from Remnant was caught by surprise when they saw, that their class scored the highest out of all classes and that the three highest scoring students were their classmates now. For the first time Ruby felt hope that she wouldn't be left behind regarding her studies.

And now she would experience her first practical exam. Thankfully it didn't include any theoretical knowledge, so the silver eyed girl was pretty confident in her abilities. Letting her eyes wander about the weapons of her classmates, she found them all to be simplistic. While she herself enjoyed the classics, many huntsmen wouldn't bother using a single close range or ranged weapon instead of combining the two.

Her hands touched the blade of Crescent Rose. Like the other students she had obtained a plastic shell for her weapon, which reduced the cutting power and was meant to prevent any serious injury. Another strange thing to think about, since she and her teammates had their Aura to protect them. There was no need for bigger safety measures for them. But it was just another reminder that they were in another world.

With a light hum Instructor Sara, who had up till now enjoyed the achievement of her class and her ability to rub it into the teacher of Class I, turned towards the new girls. "Well, since they already did their job, how about you show us what you can do?" She raised her finger and snapped, which lead to the appearance of a mechanical puppet.

"What? How? When?" Ruby eyes sparkled when she saw the being appear. She hadn't really expected to see a technical machine on that level in this world. "This is so cool!" Forgetting her place she rushed towards the puppet and started investigating it from head to toe.

"Well, it is a magic trick." Sara answered, not bothered at all by the hyperactive girl. "All I do is say the magic words 'I'll marry my foot to your face' and my little companion appears ready to kick some butt."

"It is voice controlled? That's even more awesome." the girl with the red cape didn't even stop to think about the words of her Instructor.

"Well, doesn't this seem like fun?"

A male voice was heard from the stairs leading towards the ground. At the top stood four male students dressed in white, all having a look of superiority on their face.

"Class I? What are they doing here?" Machias asked.

Blake didn't miss the undertone in the spectacled boy's voice. They were told that Class I and II were for the nobles of Erebonia while Classes III, IV and V were for commoners. Their own Class, Class VII, was a mix from both classes. It also wasn't the first time the Faunus noticed the dislike of the class vice-president for the upper class. It reminded her of a certain someone.

"Class I's combat training isn't until tomorrow."

The voice of Sara pulled Blake back into reality. The white clad nobles had come down towards Class VII and stood now on the opposite side of their Instructor.

"Instructor Thomas' class has been changed to a self-study period." the blond boy who had interrupted them the first time spoke again. He was apparently the leader of the group. "So we decided to do some cross class exchange with the ever so popular Class VII." He pulled out a rapier from his side.

"Cross class exchange my ass." Yang murmured. The intentions of Class I was pretty clear, revenge for being beaten by Class VII in the midterms. There was no way Instructor Sara would fall for that.

"Seems like I found my entertainment." the teacher simply replied and let the puppet disappear with another snap of her fingers, much to Ruby's disappointment. "Rean, you will be class captain, so choose your team. It will be a four vs four battle with arts allowed. And no exchange students."

"What? But why?" Ruby whined.

"It seems Class I wants their chance to repair their reputation after being beaten by Class VII in the exams." Sara answered towards Ruby, ignoring a 'Nonsene!' intervention by the blond member of Class I. "So, I thought it would be fair if they will only challenge those who have beaten them. Which would exclude you four." She pointed at the four girls.

"Are you done chatting around?" the blond boy sounded annoyed. "Choose your team, Schwarzer."

The named boy stepped forward. After a few seconds he spoke "I choose Emma, Laura and Gaius."

His three classmates stepped forward, just to be interrupted by the member of Class I. "Didn't your parents teach you any lessons? It is a men's duty to protect women. So, it would be for the best if this battle would be only between men. And you plan on fighting with someone whose place should have been in Class I to begin with? Choose a new team, now."

Yang's fist shook. Who did this boy think he was? Men protecting women? This view would get you killed in combat, since you couldn't choose your opponent on a battlefield. What shocked her however were Weiss next words "He got him."

Seeing the blond bombshells confused look, the white-haired girl explained: "By preventing Rean from choosing any female classmates, he basically puts his choices down to Elliot, Gaius, Machias and Jusis. And with his last words about the initial placement of the classes, he also excluded Jusis, who would be in Class I with Laura if it wasn't for Class VII. This means, that Rean has no choice for his team. He has to fight together with Gaius, Machias and Elliot."

Before Yang could ask another thing, Rean called out these exact three names.

"Instructor, you can't agree to this?" Ruby yelled. "Why does Rean have to follow the rules set by another student."

"Silence." the blond boy spoke up. "You apparently don't know who I am, so let me introduce myself. I am Patrick T. Hyarms, heir of one of the four houses of Erebonia. You better treat me with respect, commoner."

"Jusis is also the heir of one of these houses. And you don't see him going around making demands on others." Ruby replied.

"That's enough." before the situation could escalate more, Rean's calm voice forced Patrick and Ruby to stay silent. "Patrick is the one challenging us. And while I may not like his demands, it would be impolite not to fight by them." The black-haired boy pulled out his tachi. "As representatives of Class VII we accept you challenge."

Machias chuckled. "Don't cry when you get hurt by my bullets." he spoke up, pulling out his orbal shotgun. "They are mere plastic projectiles, but believe me, they hurt."

Elliot didn't seem so confident. "I will give my best, too. Even though I don't know how much that will be." the musician spoke while readying his orbal staff.

The last one to speak up as Gaius. "We will face you will all our might." his voice was a calm as Rean's had been, when he raised his spear. "Will the wind and the goddess look upon this match and let the better team win."

For a moment Patrick's friends seem to be scared by the unity shown by their opponents, but the young noble managed to get them in line quick. "We will see, which class really is the strongest!" his optimism encouraged his friends, who all pulled out their rapiers. "Do me a favor and don't loose to quickly."

"Teams, take your positions." Instructor Sara stepped between the two classes. Wasting no time, both classes took a battle formation and waited for the signal. "With the trash talking done, let the cross exchange class battle between Class I and Class VII begin!" Following her words, she gave the signal and jumped out of the line that marked the battlefield.

Two lines sprung to life around Class VII. They connected Rean and Elliot as well as Gaius and Machias. Then Patrick and two of his friends moved.

In the middle of the ring Rean's tachi met with Patrick's rapier. The two sons of noble houses exchanged a few strikes before bringing some distance between them.

"Not bad Patrick." Rean complimented. But his opponent just scuffed.

"Don't think you can beat me, Schwarzer. I'm proficient in the art of court fencing and taught by the best of the best." energy gathered around his weapon, forcing Rean to sheath his own blade.

"What are they doing?" Ruby asked confused. She could see the energy, but she couldn't make head or tails of it.

"A clash of strength." Laura explained. The blue haired girl stepped next to the leader of Team RWBY, her eyes never leaving the fight. "Patrick thinks he has an advantage, but Rean is no slouch. Underestimating him will be a mistake."

"Arc Slash!"/"Lightning Bird!"

Both fighters moved at the same moment and shot two energy waves from the steel of their weapons. The techniques collided mid-air, throwing up lots of dust.

At the same time, Gaius was holding off against two of Patrick's friends. His spear gave him superior range, but he was unable to go on the offensive himself.

"Give it up, commoner." one of his opponent spoke mockingly. "You can't defend yourself against both of us."

But the boy from Nord didn't seem bothered. Then in one swift movement, he turned his body sideways, letting the attackers passing by, before a loud shot was heard and multiple projectiles hit them straight on.

"He is not alone." Machias reloaded and took aim. "And if you wouldn't have been so careless, you may have seen this coming. Limiters released: Break Shot!" The gun was covered in energy for a moment, until the vice president pulled the trigger.

Still disorientated the targets had no real way to defend against the attack. Buckled over, they had to form a new plan. "Regroup." Falling back to the last member of Class I, they waited for Gaius and Machias to attack them now.

"Don't think you have beat me, Schwarzer." Their techniques had cancelled each other out, so both boys had begun to clash once more. "I will show you the true power of a noble." He catched the black-haired boy of guard with a kick, which send Rean a few feet back. "Now!"

The last member of Class I moved. Or better, he used what he had prepared. All students in white were covered in a fiery aura for a moment.

"Now I'm stronger than you." Patrick opened the fight again. He only focused on Rean, having faith that his other team members could handle the other commoners just fine. But the boy he faced was the son of a baron, adopted as he may be. And that meant, that he was most likely the strongest of this group. But he wouldn't be able to hold up to a true noble.

"Let's go everyone." The combat shout was heard clear over the sound of battle. Even Ruby could feel that it was more than a simple encouragement. "Is this too an ability like these sword beams?" she turned towards Laura.

The heir of the Arseid school nodded. "It's called 'Motivate' and it's awakens the fighting spirit in the allies of the one using it." The blue haired girl explained. "He basically countered Patrick's strategy with one simple move."

Ruby listened closely before she returned her attention back to the fight. In her mind she saw herself using all these flashy skills and techniques, saving humans and Faunus from Grim. But then her attention was drawn towards Elliot. "What is he doing?"

The red-haired boy was standing still, his body engulfed by red circles.

"He prepares an art." It was Emma that spoke now. "Just like Patrick's team used one to boost their strength, Elliot is preparing on of his own."

"Do you have any idea what he is casting?" Weiss asked.

The president shook her head. "Unfortunately it isn't possible tell what kind of Art an enemy uses until he casts it. The stronger the Art, the more time it takes to cast it. This leads me to believe, that he will use one of his strongest."

At the same time, Patrick finally noticed the absence of the last member of Class VII. His strength advantage was lost thanks to Rean's 'Motivate', but he still had the upper hand. Pushing the young son of a baron back once more it took him only one glance to overview the situation. "Everyone, scatter!" he called towards his team.

But this was easier said than done. Gaius had been a more formidable opponent than the two nobles had anticipated, keeping them in place even though he was outnumbered. And their third member was now to close to try to use another art.

The situation was made worse by Machias, who had a keen eye on the fight and every time one of Gaius opponents tried to outflank him, he was quickly forced back by a shot from his orbal gun. But with Patrick's warning their eyes to found the casting Elliot. And just like their leader, they connected the dots.

Gaius and Machias had only stalled them long enough for Elliot to use his strongest art. And since the three were all pretty close, there was a high chance, that they all would be target. Since it would be important, that they could still continue the fight, they disengaged and tried to follow Patrick's order.

"Not on my watch! Whirlwind to me!" Predicting the enemies move, the boy from Nord whirled his spear above his head and unleashed a small tornado upon the nobles, trapping them inside. With his job done he withdrew, giving Elliot all the space he needed.

"HYDRO CANNON!"

Massive amounts of water rushed forwards. And the timing was perfect. Once the wind of Gaius' attack faded, the three nobles saw themselves faced with Elliot's art. No way to dodge or to block, they were thrown out of the circle, marking the end of their fight.

Patrick could only watch in horror. His plan just went down the drain. He was confident in his abilities, but a four vs one match up was something even he couldn't do. "No," he thought to himself, "Don't panic. Think."

Energy gathered around his blade once more.

"Give it up, Patrick. You are all alone now." Even though Rean tried to reason with him, his body was still prepared for an attack.

"I can still fight, Schwarzer. THIS FIGHT ISN'T OVER! LIGHTNING BIRD!" Instead of firing his technique at Rean, he aimed at the ground. The resulting blast threw up lots of dirt and dust, taking the sight of every fighter in the ring.

"This coward." Laura was furious. Using the opportunity to perform such a dirty trick was far from what a noble should do.

Yang laid her arm on the blue haired nobles' shoulder. "He will get what he deserves." she calmed her down.

Inside the cloud Patrick moved and turned his body around. He had memorized the position of the red-haired boy. One 'Lightning Bird' should be enough to take him out of the fight. And when the other team was still disorientated, he could take out that spearman.

Energy gathered around his blade. Just one attack.

"Autumn Leaf Cutter!"

Before he could perform it however something passed by him. And then he felt multiple hits all over his body. It all happened so fast, he didn't recognize what had happened until his body hit the ground. Before him, his back turned towards him, stood Rean Schwarzer. How? How did he find him inside the dust cloud? He had paid extra attention that he hadn't been standing still.

Instructor Sara's voice was heard clear over the now silent battlefield: "The winner is Class VII!"

**xXx**

**And welcome back to a new chapter of Trails of the Huntress. This time it was about the fight between Class I and Class VII and I hope that you enjoyed the fight scene.**

**I'm sorry for the long time it took for this chapter to come out. Real life got me good and I had to rewrite this chapter multiple times since I simply wasn't happy with the way things turned out. I also planed on writing more, but decided to split the chapter in two. It's easier to write for me in smaller packages than trying to get one big chapter out. **

**Other news: Trails of Cold Steel 3 is finally out, yeah! Let's see how the story of Class VII continues. I like everything about this game so far, the VAs are great, the new combat system takes some time to adapt to, but are still fun. **

**It also gave me some ideas for future pairings, so for those of you, who wanted some crossover pairings I have a surprise: The first three crossover pairings I'm planning on taking into this fic:**

**1\. Jusis x Weiss: Two heirs with troubled familie. I also think that both can learn a lot from each other. **

**2\. Machias x Blake: I simply like the idea of Machias becoming Blake's safe heaven, while Blake can keep Machias more human. **

**3\. Qrow x Captain Clair: Just found one scene in Cold Steel 3 that makes this pairing actually quite intriguing. Because of spoilers I will not say more. For anyone who wants to know more about it and doesn't fear spoilers, send me a PM. I can give you the details there.**

**As always thanks for reading, I'm happy about all reviews and I wish you all well**

**ZMusok**


	6. Chapter 6

The four victorious members of Class VII sheathed their weapons.

"It was a good fight." Rean commented, turning around to face Patrick, who had risen into a kneeling position. "You are really strong, Pat…" He offered the blond his hand to stand up, but the noble slapped it away.

"Get your filthy hands of me." the boy raised to his feet, pure anger on his face. "Don't you dare start acting like you're above me, Rean Schwarzer."

"HEY!" Yang's angry voice interrupted Patrick's tirade. "What's the big idea?" The blond brawler's fury was terrifying enough to make the blond noble shiver in fear. "Rean and the rest beat you fair and square. So take it like a man." She stepped closer to the son of house Hyarms, her whole demeanour promising pain.

But be it by courage or stupidity, Patrick retaliated. "Stay out of this! What does a commoner like you know about us nobles? We live in completely different worlds and if you even think about comparing yourself to us, then…"

"Then what?" the calm voice of Gaius interrupted. "It is true, that Yang and I stem from outside of the empire." In comparison to Yang's burning fury, Gaius distain felt cold. "Please, tell us, what makes a noble better than a commoner?"

The combination of Gaius' calm demeanour and Yang's threatening presence was an effective combination. Every reason Patrick brought up was something he had lacked during the fight. Power, grace and knowledge, Rean and his team of commoners had demonstrated all of these abilities far better than the representatives of Class I. And to add insult to injury, Sarah promised the white clad students that she would examine the entire fight and every mistake they made in every detail in front of their own class. In the end, the nobles left completely beaten.

With the intruders now gone, Instructor Sarah turned towards the class. "All right, let's continue." she said in high spirits. "Alisa, Emma, Fie and Laura. You four will take on our newcomers."

All female members of Class VII nodded and entered the ring. The zemurian girls took a formation with Laura and Fie in the front and Emma and Alisa in the back. Team RWBY on the other hand stood side by side in a straight line.

"The same rules as before." Their Instructor explained while raising her hand. "And begin!"

Yang shot Ember Celica backwards, propelling herself forward in the process. She swatted an arrow fired by Alisa aside, just to find herself face to face with Laura. The daughter of the Radiant Blademaster used Yang's now open flank to land a strong hit with her two-handed blade. And as a result, Yang was thrown to the side. But the huntress in training turned her body around and managed to land on her feet, still sliding a few meters before coming to a stop.

Ruby was the next on to attack. She planned to use the opening from Laura's attack against Yang to her advantage and used her semblance to appear in the blue haired girls blind spot. But before Crescent Rose could score a hit, Fie intervened. The petit girl blocked the steel of the scythe with one of her gunblades and used the other one for a shot in Ruby's midsection. Thankfully Ruby's Aura protected her from most of the attack, allowing her to continue the fight without any drawbacks.

At the same time Alisa and Emma started casting. Having witnessed the power of an art in the previous battle, both Blake and Weiss knew what to do.

Multiple Glyphs appeared at the Schnee Dust Company heiress' feet, propelling her towards the back row of the opposing team. Having closed the distance much faster than the other two girls had anticipated, Weiss unleashed multiple attacks at the girls, scoring some good hits.

The same couldn't be said for Blake. Laura and Fie were remarkable fighters in their own right, and even though they were busy dealing with Ruby and the recovered Yang, these two still were capable of stopping Blake's advance. This left them with a three vs two situation, leaving the supporting fighters duking it out between themselves.

The Faunus spoke a small curse, as another one of her clones was destroyed. She felt unfit to fight either of the opponents. Laura's blade gave her enough range to prevent Blake from getting to close after using a clone. And Fie's speed allowed her to react and counter the black-haired girl's attack even if she used clones as a distraction.

Yang had a similar problem. Her shotgun shots were blocked by Laura, who used her giant sword as a makeshift shield. And even with the power boost her Semblance granted, the erebonian noble had enough strength to potentially end the next in one hit, if Yang got unlucky. On the other hand, Fie danced around her attacks both close range and long ranged ones. Her fist connected with Laura's blade once more, before the blond girl jumped back to let Ruby attack.

The leader of Team RWBY unleashed multiple high-speed attacks, but her attempt to break through the Erebonian girl's defence failed. A counter pushed her back, so she swapped places with Blake and took on the silver haired Fie in her stead. Given her smaller body build she was lacking Laura's strength and durability, but made up for it with her agility and speed.

Crescent Rose met Fie's gunblades, sparks flying through the air as the two girls started their deadly dance. Using an opening after a wide swing, Fie got into Ruby's range and unleashed three strikes with her weapons, before retreating when the huntress in training could unleash Crescent Rose again.

But this retreat gave Ruby a chance of her own. Switching her weapon into rifle mode, she took aim and pulled the trigger. Her target wasn't the girl in front of her, but rather her blue-haired partner, whose back was turned towards Ruby.

The surprise attack broke Laura's stance and concentration, which Yang and Blake took immediately advantage of. And a bullet passing her cheek reminded her of her own battle.

Weiss had to admit that she may have taken on more than she could handle. Her plan had been, that she and Blake would take out Emma first to prevent a repeat of the earlier fight. But not only did Alisa also started using Arts, but Blake had been caught up in the fight with Laura and Fie. This left her alone to face the two girls.

Thankfully neither of them was physical powerhouses and Myrtenaster proved to be a better suited weapon for this fight than Alisa's bow or Emma's staff.

A glyph appeared behind her and protected her from one of the blond girl's arrows. She then jumped back to evade energy orbs released by Emma. 'Just a few more steps' she thought. Weiss had fought defensively the entire time, all in order to get an advantage. Which wasn't made easy by her opponents.

The two Erebonian girl's never left their pincer formation around the heiress, forcing her to divide her attacks to both sides. But while it would seem only a matter of time until Weiss would be overwhelmed, she finally got into the position she desired.

With a smile she created a Glyph below the archer. And from one moment to the next, Alisa was catapulted away, the arrow she had inserted fallen useless to the ground.

"Alisa is defeated via ring out!" The voice of their instructor resounded over the battlefield.

The smile still on her lips, Weiss attention returned to the fight. But she was a second to late.

"Gleaming blades of light!" Four ethereal blades appeared at the class president's side, their aim on Weiss. "Fly!" With this order the weapons were fired.

Acting quick, Weiss created multiple Glyphs in the air, trying to protect herself from the attack. Her advantage against Alisa turned into a disadvantage against Emma, since she stood now with the back to the outer limit of the battlefield.

The blades hit the Glyphs, and Weiss released her breath. She had survived the surprise attack.

Or not, since four more blades appears besides Emma. Overwhelmed the huntress in training reacted to slowly. The projectiles hit her into her abdomen, sending her skidding backwards. But she was still inside the ring. Which changed when she saw the traitorous rings around the class president.

"Lunar Beam!"

The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company had no way to protect herself. A silver beam of light engulfed her and once it disappeared, the white-haired girl laid outside of the ring.

"Weiss is defeated via ring out!"

Laura brought her blade up to block the next series of swings and punches of Yang. Ever since she was shot in the back, she was pressured by the blond and the black-haired member of Team RWBY, preventing her from getting back into the right stance.

And while she managed to protect herself from any move that would have knocked her out, the noble knew that she couldn't hold on much longer. Swinging her weapons upwards she forced Yang back, before jumping back to evade shots fired by Blake.

Fie and Ruby were exchanging blows on their own. It was a peculiar situation, since both girls knew, that their team mates needed them. But they couldn't help them, since turning their back to their opponent would leave them wide open for an attack from the other girl.

But Fie's brain was working at full capacity. She had used different tactics against the scythe wielding girl and yet Ruby manged to match her. And yet, the petit girl wasn't worried. She still had some tricks up on her sleeves. One she was going to use now.

Jumping back, she sheathed one of her blades and pulled out a small metallic object, holding it right before Ruby's eyes.

"A grenade?" she asked, her voice showed signs of fear. But why would the young girl pull out such a weapon now? Did she want to blow herself up? Then her eyes widened, when she saw Fie's smile. Her target was her sister and Blake.

With a nonchalant "Catch!" the grenade was thrown.

Without missing a beat, Ruby activated her Semblance. "Blake, Yang, watch out!" The leader warned her teammates from the nearing danger, before turning into a flurry of roses, catching up to the thrown object. If she could change the trajectory, she could…

Ruby's thoughts were wiped out by a strong flash of light and a loud sound. In her hectic, Ruby had misjudged the kind of grenade Fie had thrown. It hadn't been an explosive one, but a flash bang grenade. And she had been directly next to it when it exploded. The last thing she felt, was a strong hit at the back of her head, before the light was consumed by darkness.

And yet Ruby's warning had another result. It made Blake and Yang look into the direction of her voice, which let them look directly at the flash of the grenade when it went off. Blake had it especially hard, since her Faunus heritage had given her heightened senses, which led to the young girl to roll around the ground, holding her ears, screaming.

Surprised by the effect of her teammates attack, Laura caught herself quickly and ran pass the still disorientated Yang next to the downed Faunus. With a bitter smile she used just enough force to knock her opponent out, praying to Aidios that the cat girl would feel better once she awoke.

"Ruby and Blake are defeated by knock out!"

Instuctor Sarah's voice pulled Yang back into reality. She saw Fie over the unconscious body of her sister and Laura raising from besides the body of Blake. The brawler felt fury welling up inside her mind. How dare these girls do this to her teammates? They would pay. And the first target was thankfully nearby.

With a powerful combat yell Yang stormed forward. Her fist pulled back to deliver a strong punch into the Laura's face. But thanks to her adrenaline and anger, the last standing member of Team RWBY had forgotten one fact. The distraction of the flash bang had given the swordswomen enough time to get back into her stance. And as a result, she was ready to face the girl from Remnant.

Evading the first punch, then the second Laura used her weapon as a bat, throwing Yang sideways rolling over the ground. Even angrier than before the huntress in training retaliated, trying to overpower her opponent with pure force. But the swordswoman met her head on, countering the blond's every move. And after an especially strong swing, which send Yang skidding back, she had enough. Throwing everything into her next strike, the girl shot forward. And yet she missed. Having predicted such an obvious attack from, the Erebonian noble jumped over her attacker, brining her sword down on Yang's unprotected back. As a result, the last member of Team RWBY fell to the ground and Sarah's voice announced the final result

"Yang is defeated by knock out."

Weiss stared at her defeated friends. While she had known that they could lose, actually seeing it happening gave her a strange feeling in her stomach.

"It was a good match." The heiress noticed, that Alisa had come over and sat down next to her. "Instructor Sarah gave us a few minutes to recover before she will continue the lesson."

The white-haired girl just nodded. She didn't know what she should say.

"What were those things?" the archer suddenly asked.

"What things?" came the reply.

"The things you created to block my arrows and to throw me out of the ring. You aren't in possession of an Arcus-Unit yet, so it couldn't be an art. And it didn't feel like a Craft." The blond-haired girl explained. "I honestly never saw anything like that in my life."

"My Semblance." Weiss answered. After seeing the confused look on her classmate's face, she continued. "In Remnant people can unlock something we call 'Aura'. It's a manifestation of someone's soul, which you can think of as a shield that protects the user and grants them other benefits like protection against extreme weather conditions or heightened senses."

"That's sure sound nice. And this 'Aura' also grants you a Semblance?"

Weiss nodded. And as she continued, her voice took on a teaching tone "Once person has their Aura unlocked, he or she can manifest a Semblance. A superpower in generic terms." She created a small Glyph in her hand, holding it in front of Alisa's face. "What you saw, was my Semblance. It allows me to create different types of Glyphs, either for defensive or offensive purposes."

The Erebonian girl nodded. "A terrifying ability to go up against." she commented.

"Not that it helped me much in the match." the huntress in training responded. "I let my guard down for a second and even my power couldn't save me."

"But you weren't fighting with all your power, right?"

Weiss looked confused at the archer. "Why do you think that?"

Alisa pointed towards Myrtenaster, which was resting at Weiss' side. "While fighting I couldn't help but notice that your weapon has a unique design." She explained. "The hilt looked different from other rapiers. And I doubt that the colourful objects inside of it are just for decoration."

The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company could only compliment the girl in her thoughts. "You're right." She opened the chamber and pulled out a red container. "These are vials of Dust, the energy source we use on Remnant." She told the blond girl. "It allows me to use elemental attacks and it can even increase the powers of my Semblance."

"It's like your own version of an Orbment then." Alisa mused.

Weiss nodded. "But I had only a limited amount of Dust with me when we stranded here. As such I have to use it wisely, since once it runs out, I won't be able to get new one. That's why I didn't use Myrtenaster's full power during the match. It felt like a waste of resources."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make it sound like you were holding back on purpose." Alisa apologized, but Weiss just waved it away. There way no way that the girl could have known about her predicament before this conversation.

The two girls watched as the rest of Class VII took care of Ruby, Blake and Yang. Blake was the first who was back on her feet, since both Emma and Elliot casted a healing Art on her. They hoped, that it would also lessen any aftereffects of the flashbang grenade. They then turned to Ruby.

"Can you tell me more about Dust?" Alisa suddenly asked.

Seeing no problem in it, Weiss complied. "Dust is a power source, plain and simple. It represents pure energy of a certain type and can be found either crystallized or in powder form. The energy can be used for all kind of things, from powering engines to being used in weapons."

Alisa listened carefully, as Weiss listed all the different types of Dust and their properties. After the girl from Remnant finished her explanation, the girl from Erebonia fell silent.

"Maybe you can use Septium for a similar effect." she thought out loud, catching the heiress of guard. "Since it is a crystallized energy source, it may trigger a similar reaction like Dust if used in a similar way."

"You think, that will work?" Weiss asked, but Alisa just shook her head.

"I don't know. Normally Septium is formed into Quartz to achieve certain effects. And I have no idea, if powdered Septium can be used in the same way as Dust. And using Myrtenaster directly for an experiment would be dumb, since we don't know what will happen. Worst case scenario would be that you lose your weapon entirely."

Weiss swallowed. But then she got an idea. "What if we create a new weapon to test this theory?" Seeing Alisa's confused look, she continued. "In Remnant many huntsman and huntresses craft their own personal weapon." the blond archer nodded. "With the experience I have creating Myrtenaster, I should be able to create a blueprint and maybe even forge another weapon."

Alisa caught on to her train of thought. "But since you have no experience with Orbal Energy, you will need assistance in creating it. You also have to account for certain resources to be unobtainable, so you need someone to look over the blueprints and check for changes, if needed."

The two girls smile at each other as a plan formed in their minds to help Weiss.

While these two girls were talking, another conversation took place.

"What are you looking at?" Fie asked Blake. The Faunus hadn't taken her eyes from the small girl ever since she regained consciousness. "I won't use another grenade, so you can be at ease."

"And what makes you think I'm not at ease?" the answer of the Faunus sounded harsher than it was intended to.

"Your entire body is tense. It's like you think about attacking me or running away." the silver-haired girl simply answered. She had no ill intend towards the black-haired girl, but being stared could be quite irritating.

After a few seconds, Blake couldn't hold it in any more. "Why do you have a flashbang grenade? How do you even know how to use such a thing?"

A deadpan look was her reward. With a sigh Fie started talking. "Since I told the other members of Class VII, I may also tell my story to you. I was a Jaeger. A mercenary." She ignored Blake's look of disbelieve. "I most likely fought on more battlefields than the rest of Class VII combined. And as a result, I learned one or two tricks to stay alive."

Blake didn't know what to say. In a way it felt like she was looking into a mirror, seeing her past self staring back at her. Could she have become someone like Fie if she didn't leave the White Fang?

"You were good." Fie's next words pulled the Faunus out of her thoughts. "Your overall fighting ability is solid and your cloning trick can be very useful in a fight. But you don't grasp one of the fundamentals of the battlefield." The former Jaeger passed the Faunus and started walking towards the rest of the group. "Honour only helps you in a fight, if you are strong. Every one else has to use each advantage they can get. Throwing your enemy of balance by disrupting their senses is one of the first things you learn. And the second important rule on a battlefield is: keep your head in the fight or you will lose it." Having no words left, the petite girl walked away, leaving Blake to her thoughts.

Around the same time, Emma and Elliot managed to patch up both Ruby and Yang.

Feeling something akin to a gentle stream passing along her body and reducing her pain, the blond brawler opened her eyes. She was greeted by the worried expressions of Laura and Elliot. Giving them a small smile she asked "Did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?" she tried it with a joke.

"I'm sorry." Laura was the first to speak. "I underestimated my power and…"

But Yang interrupted her. "Do you really apologize for winning a match?" she asked.

"But…"

"You would need more than that to keep me down." She reassured the girl, before standing up. "And don't think this is over. Next time, you'll be the one lying in the dirt." her grin got wider.

"I'm looking forward to it." the blue-haired girl responded, a smile forming on her face that matched Yang's. "But I won't make it easy for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The brawler said.

All these talks allowed the girls to get over the loss quickly. And as a result they all swore to themselves loudly, that they wouldn't lose the next fight.

"Well, colour me surprise. Only a few days here and already the full package?" a joyous voice came from the entrance of the field.

Turning towards the newcomer, Ruby and her friends were greeted by the sight of four individuals. A petite girl with brown hair wearing a green uniform, a chubby boy wearing a yellow suit and carrying a metal briefcase, a violet haired girl dressed in leather and the one who had spoken, a boy with silver hair wearing a bandana.

"But damn, maybe I should think about switching classes." the same boy continued while looking over Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang.

"And you think they would allow that, Crow?" the girl in biker clothes responded, before turning her attention towards the four girls. "But seeing them myself and up close, I must say, they really are a special kind of flower."

"Come down, Angie." the smallest member of the group called the now named Angie out. "Or else you will scare them away."

"Ehm, who are you?" Yang was the first to ask, which flustered brown haired girl.

"Oh, excuse me." she apologized quickly. "My name is Towa Herschel. I'm the student council president of Thors Military Academy." the girl introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, my name is… Student Council President? How old are you?" Ruby suddenly shouted.

"She may not look like it, but she is 18." the chubby boy answered. "I'm George Nome. And the other members are Crow Armbrust," he pointed at the bandana wearing boy "and Angelica Rogner."

"Oh man, couldn't you let us introduce ourselves?" Crow whined. "Now it feels like we are just the entourage."

"You are named Crow too?" Ruby had appeared before the bandana wearing boy in a flash, looking at him with a big grin.

"You bet. It's nice meeting a fellow crow." the older boy responded.

Ruby shook her head. "No, no. My name is Ruby. But my Uncle is named Qrow. He is super strong and super cool." she stated explaining.

This resulted in a laugh of the violet-haired girl. "Super strong and super cool? It seems you have a reputation to live up to now." She teased Crow, who laughed.

"Well, I'm already cool. And when I unleash my secret power, I will beat you into submission and free the hearts of all the maidens you have captured." he responded.

"Oh, is this a challenge?" Angelica turned towards the boy. "The last time we spared, you were begging for your life after three minutes. And the hearts of the ladies are all mine. Maybe I will start by stealing the heart of this little flower in front of me."

Her face moved closer to Ruby, who jumped behind the bandana wearing boy. "Please, protect me."

For a moment everything was silent, then the four senior students started laughing.

"Hey, don't laugh." the scythe-using girl shouted. "That's not funny."

"Come on, Angie. Apologize to her." Towa finally calmed down. "Sorry for the trouble. Angelica is a really nice person, so you don't have to be afraid of her."

"She won't steal my heart?" Ruby asked, still doubtful.

"No promises here, my little rose. But if I do, it will be gentle." This last sentence earned her a demeaning look by Crow.

"Not that I want to intrude, but why are you here?" Blake asked. "I mean, wouldn't it be better to get to know us after classes are over?"

"I will pick you up on this offer later, little cat. But we are here, because a certain instructor has given my dear little Towa even more work to deal with." Angelica's voice got weeping, while Sarah whistled a song for herself. "And since we wouldn't want our dear little angel to overwork herself, we decided to come help her."

The girls would have believed the leather clad girl if George didn't intervene.

"Come now, Angie, that's enough. It's true, that Towa was asked by Instructor Sarah for some assistance. But I'm here because I have your very own Arcus Units ready for usage with me." he showed them the briefcase. "And since it may take some time for you to get accustomed to it, I will also help you to set everything up."

"By the way, Instrucor Sarah, here are the documents you wanted." Towa pulled out multiple envelops from her uniform and handed them to the Instructor.

"Thanks Towa." The former bracer took the items and turned towards the class. "Before I send you with George to get your new toys, let me tell you about a certain special ritual this class has." she held the envelopes in front of the entire class. "Everyone, step forward and take one. Ruby, you go first."

As ordered by their Instructor, the members of Class VII stepped forward one after the other, starting with the girls from Remnant. The reaction of their classmates told them, that they had experienced this event already. And after each student from the students in red uniforms had received an envelope, they were allowed to open it. Inside was a page with the following written upon it:

_Field Study June_

_Group A: Rean, Alisa, Emma, Jusis, Gaius, Ruby, Yang_

_Study Location: Nord Highlands_

_Group B: Machias, Elliot, Laura, Fie, Weiss, Blake_

_Study Location: Bryonia Island_

Confused the girls looked around. Field Study? Study Location? Seeing the confused looks on her new student's face, Sarah gave them a cheeky smile. "This little paper allows you to escape the school for two days and experience life to its fullest. Inside certain boundaries of course"

Ruby looked at the piece of paper in her hand. They would leave the academy so shortly after arriving? And Team RWBY would be split up? She felt a sense of unease. But when she looked around, she saw Rean and the others talking about their new locations. No, she reminded herself, she wasn't alone in this. As of now, Team RWBY had become part of something bigger, they had become part of Class VII of Thors Military Academy. And this Field Study would be their first adventure in this new world. That she promised herself.

**xXx**

**And the next chapter is finished. For all you reviewers that wanted to see Team RWBY taking on Erebonians, this is for you. I hope you enjoyed the fight and the introduction of Towa, George, Angelica and Crow. **

**There isn't really much to say from my end this chapter. So for once, I won't make a long after comment for a chapter. As always, leave a fav if you like this story, a comment on what's good or bad and I hope to see you again for the next chapter of this story.**

**Update 07.11.2019: Well, here it is; my first chapter 2.0 for this fanfiction. Thanks to the user 'InfiniteStarz', whose critique gave me some ideas to expand this chapter. After a good night's rest and reading his comment as well as rereading my chapter, I noticed, that it really felt like something was missing. While the fight and the Patrick scene remained unchanged, I added some paragraphs after the fight and during the introduction of Towa and the rest. Honestly, a huge thank you to everyone who left a comment on this story. It not only helps me as a writer, but also motivates me to continue writing this fanfiction. As a result, I wish all of you well and have a nice day.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, one more time!" Ruby exclaimed, while closing her eyes. She stood in her room unmoving for two or three seconds until she raised her left hand. With a matching sound, she gave her sister a blind high-five. "That's incredible." the silver-eyed girl exclaimed, her mind completely focused on the little device in her hand. Her very own Arcus unit.

After she and her teammates had received their own units, Sarah had drilled the usage of them into their minds. They had been forced to form Combat Links with every member of Class VII and they were instructed into the usage of Arts and the importance of Quartz. In the end, all four girls were pretty exhausted after so much information. And yet, Ruby had declared that they would train even more after dinner. Which they had done for another hour or so until now.

While Ruby was gushing about the new possibilities that the Arcus was opening up to them, Weiss was sitting silently on Ruby's bed, her eyes fixated on the device.

"What's up, Ice Queen?" Yang's happy but tired voice pulled the heiress out of her thoughts. The blond brawler sat down next to her.

"I don't get it." the fencer answered. "When we woke up here, everything seemed so ancient. Even Fie's gunswords would make a respectable huntsman laugh." She sighed. "But at the same time, they have this. Not only does it allow people to use what you could describe as magic, but the Combat Link technology is a huge boon on any battlefield." Weiss raised the unit to her face. "I'm wondering, how many lives can be saved if we could bring this technology to Remnant."

"Sorry, but you're asking the wrong person here." Yang replied, while standing up. "I'm only good at punching things. It doesn't matter if I use an Arcus Unit to do it or not." The blond girl raised her hands and gave a short wave. "But if we can use it to save people, then we have to look for a way home even harder." With these last words she left the room.

Blake followed shortly thereafter, saying that she still had material to review. This left Ruby and Weiss alone in the room.

"I think it's a wonderful idea, too."

Weiss looked at her leader.

Ruby continued. "Trying to figure out how it works and try to make these Arcus' accessible for Remnant."

"You don't think it is crazy?" the white-haired girl asked back. "Brining foreign technology, technology from a different dimension even, back with us?"

The scythe using girl just shook her head. "If anyone would have a problem with that, we wouldn't be here in the first place."

Weiss didn't even try to correct Ruby's rather absurd reasoning.

"And even if we return, we bring stuff from this dimension back anyway. Our memories, the training we receive. What difference does technology make then?" Ruby continued, which lead to Weiss chuckling.

"I guess you win this one." the heiress stood up and stretched herself. "But there won't be any more learning for tonight. What about you?"

"There is one thing I want to try out." was her answer.

The heiress nodded, since the fire in Ruby's eyes meant, that the girl wouldn't rest until she had tried out exactly that one thing. Whishing her friend good luck, the girl opened the door.

xXx

Once Yang had left her sister's room, the girl heard the faint sound of music. Intrigued she followed the sound, down the stairs and to a door on her left side. Given her position it was clear, that one of the boys of Class VII was playing the instrument.

The brawler sneaked towards the door of the musician. After confirming that she was alone on the floor, she put her ear on the door. Just to notice that the door was only ajar and with her weight pushing against it, simply swung open. The music stopped and two pairs of eyes were looking at her.

"Um… Hi!" Yang jumped to her feet and waved her hand, trying to overplay her little mishap.

"Seems like I didn't lock the door." came a deadpan answer from Fie, who was sitting on the bed in the room.

This was followed by a "Fieee!" from Elliot, who stood in the middle of the room, a violin in hand.

Yang looked at the curious pair. "What are you doing?" A devilish smile appeared on her face. "A boy and a girl alone in a room with music playing loud…" she turned into a blur and sat down next to Fie."So, gimme the detail."

"There's nothing…" the musician started, but the two girls ignored his pleading words.

"Elliot asked me to listen to him playing. Said that it would hep him getting better if he hears the opinion of someone else."

"Oh? But what about the other guys?"

"Rean already has enough…" Once again, the redhead was ignored.

"Apparently I was the first one he asked." Fie said, her face showing no emotion. "And since I had nothing better to do, I thought I could give it a try."

Yang chuckled. "And you think he had no ulterior motive? Asking a girl to come to his room? To listen to music? It would sound pretty fishy to me."

"Not if 90% of the girls in this dormitory could kick my ass in a fight!" Elliot's final, desperate attempt at getting the girls attention finally worked and the two females turned towards him. "Heck, if I try to do something to Fie against her will, I might as well sign my own death sentence. Because if she does nothing to me, that doesn't save me from the other members of this dormitory, both male and female. I would be dead. So, please, don't bring forth my immediate demise."

The girl from Remnant looked at the redhead. "Aren't guys supposed to act though and manly?" there was still a humourus tone in her voice.

"Really?" Elliot voice got quiet. "Look at me. In a real fight, I'm the weakest link. I'm not as strong as Rean, collected as Jusis or calm like Gaius. While they can stand in the first row and fight, I can only support them from the backrow. Not exactly tough or manly, wouldn't you agree?"

Yang was taken by surprise by the redhead's outburst. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Elliot shook his head. "No, I'm sorry." He sighed and sat down by his desk. "I know that I'm not like the others in terms of combat abilities." A faint smile appeared on the musician's face. "But the two months since I got here belong to the best I experienced in a long time. I don't really mind my role in combat, but being told by a girl to be tough and manly stung. I have to admit that." The boy laughed.

"You little… And here I even apologized to you." but the joyous undertone in her voice betrayed Yang's played anger.

"And don't sell your role short." Fie added. "Your talent with Arts is amazing and offering support on the battlefield is much more important than taking on an enemy head on. During a fight we have to look out for each other."

Yang nodded. "You really helped the others out in the match against Class I. The water art that you used really gave you the advantage."

Elliot blushed. "Please, it wasn't a big deal."

Fie continued. "I doubt any other guy could have pulled it out just the way you did. So, no more putting yourself down."

"And no more frowning." Yang added. "If you need someone to listen to you to get better, than we," she pointed at Fie and herself, "will listen until you're finished. We are a team after all."

The three students all laughed together, the stress of the day falling of from them.

Finally, the redhead took up his instrument again. "Are you ready?" After he saw both girls nodding. "Because I will give it my all to give you two a special performance." With these words he started playing again.

After hearing the first few notes, Yang had to admit, that Elliot was talented. Even she, who had no real knowledge about how to play an instrument, felt the passion and feeling the boy was putting into his work.

"His music really helps you relax." the small whisper of Fie went under in the sound of the violin, only Yang hearing this sentence.

xXx

Blake's plan had been to return to her room and to study some more until going to sleep. But shortly after she had started her learning session, the faunus girl felt thirsty.

"Maybe I underestimated that kind of training." the black-haired girl sighed. She knew, that trying to learn like this wouldn't help her at all. At least it happened before she really got into the study material, so a quick visit to the kitchen wouldn't hinder her at all.

"Good evening, Lady Belladonna." The melodic voice of Sharon greeted the cat girl once she entered the dormitory dining room right next to the kitchen. Seeing Blake flinching from surprise, the maid bowed deeply "My apology. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no. I'm just not used to having someone around doing all the chores." the faunus explained. "I simply didn't expect someone to be here at this time."

"I understand." Sharon kept smiling. "Then may you tell me what brought you here?"

"I just wanted to get something to drink. There is no need for you…"

"Nonsene." The maid interrupted the faunus. "As a caretaker it is my duty to take care of your and your classmates wellbeing. This means, doing everything in my power to make you comfortable. Or are you not happy with my work?"

"No, but…"

"Wonderful." Sharon turned around, opening a sideboard. "Tell me, do you have any plans for after your drink?"

"Plans?" came a confused question.

"Like meeting your special someone and needing a calming drink beforehand? Or going to sleep and needing a sleeping drink?"

Blake nodded and told the maid her plans. With a safe hand Sharon pulled out a glass full of tea leaves. "In this case I recommend these. It's a mixture of lavender and melissa. A great combination to calm down without disturbing your sleep later on. Together with its mild taste this tea is a favourite among nobles." During the explanation she continued preparing hot water to boil the tea. Each and every movement showed Sharon's skill in this regard.

"Are you happy with your life, Sharon?"

The maid just finished her preparation and the water started boiling. "My pardon?"

"I mean, you give your heart and soul for Alisa's family." Blake started. "And I want to know why? Why are you putting yourself in this position?" the girl tried to keep her voice calm. "Why do you serve as a maid?"

Sharon kept her smile while turning around. "Are you suggesting that Lady Alisa is a bad mistress?"

"No." the faunus shook her head. "But for someone with your skills, this seems like a waste. You could do so much, so why settling with such a low position? I just don't understand."

Her answer was a chuckle. "It's because what I possess, I have thanks to the Reinford family. They took me in, allowed me to develop these skills that you praised. Without them, I would be nothing."

"But…"

"You want to know if I could show my gratitude in another way, right?" Sharon intervened before Blake could speak more. The black-haired girl nodded. "Then tell me, how? Money isn't an issue for the Reinford family. That means, that any kind of material gift wouldn't mean that much. But my services? It's something only I can provide. And it's something both Master Irina and Lady Alisa need."

"What does that mean?"

"The Reinford Family has many enemies. And to hire a new maid or butler could become a security breach, if it isn't done right. As such, this process would need time and effort, two thing lady Irina can't spare." Sharon explained.

"But you can't let someone else decide your life." Blake started arguing. "If this Lady Irina tells you to jump from a tower, you wouldn't do it, right?"

Another chuckle. "But I would."

"Why?" Blake's voice became desperate. "Why throw your life away just because someone tells you to do it."

"Because if Lady Irina told me to jump down a tower, then she trusts me to survive the jump. Maybe the hight isn't that dangerous, or there is something that will weaken the impact." Taking a last look at the finished tea in front of her, the woman took a cup and filled it. "You seem under the impression, that Lady Irina and Lady Alisa are bad people, but that is untrue." She didn't seem to notice Blake flinching. "They know what I can and what I can't do. And with this knowledge they can use me to the best of my abilities. Please follow me." She walked past Blake into the dining room and put the tea in front of a seat. "I thank you for your compassion, but there is no reason to feel sorry for me."

With these words Sharon disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Blake alone with the hot drink. "But when does this change?" the cat girl asked herself quietly, remembering the way her own people were treated back in Remnant.

xXx

Rean had just returned to the dormitory after talking to both Towa and George about the new additions to Class VII and how they would be proceeding with them from now on. Feeling tired, the swordsman only wanted to return a borrowed textbook about Orbal Science and wrap this day up.

Knocking on Alisa's door, the boy waited for a response.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Rean." He identified himself. He counted two seconds, before the door opened and he came face to face with the blond archer. "I just wanted to return this." He gave her the book. "Thanks for lending me this, it really helped me prepare for the test."

"No problem, we are in the same class after all. And I already memorized the most important bits anyway." The bow woman replied. "But I'm glad that it could help you." There was an awkward silence between the two, until Alisa spoke up again: "By the way, what do you think about Ruby and her friends?"

"What I think of them…" Rean thought out loud, before he came out with an answer. "I admit that they are talented fighters and they bring a fresh wind into our class, but…"

"But…?"

Rean sighed. "I get the feeling, that they aren't serious enough when it comes down to fighting. Ruby's sacrifice during the sparing match earlier is one thing, but Yang completely lost herself to her anger. It didn't change the outcome since she was the last one standing, but depending on future situations, she might pull others down with her."

"But she's strong, isn't she?" Alisa replied. "I mean, given what we all experienced during our last two field studies, I'm happy about any fighter that increases our fighting power. Don't you agree, Mr. 'Let's break into a military holding cell to break out a classmate'?"

"To be honest, Group A decided to rescue Machias, so you can't make me responsible for this." Mr. 'Let's break into a military holding cell to break out a classmate' answered, just to receive a chuckle from the girl.

"To be honest I think that we all can learn from one another."

Before Alisa could say more, the door to Ruby's room was opened and Weiss stepped out.

"Hey Weiss," the boy greeted the girl from Remnant, "Do you have a minute?"

The heiress nodded. "What's the problem?"

"It's about the future of your stay here. Do you know if Ruby, Yang and Blake are available, too?"

"I am here" the first mentioned girl called out of the room, while stepping next to Blake. "And Yang and Blake should be in their rooms." The energetic girl rushed to her sister's room and knocked, but didn't get an answer.

"There is no one up here besides us." Rean spoke up, resulting in Ruby turning around with wide eyes.

"How do you know that? Are you a psychic?" She asker, her voice trembling from excitement. "Or is it a technique like your sword beam and that 'Motivation' ability?"

"No, it's not a Craft. It's… how do I describe it?"

"Just say it." Weiss demanded. "Or else you will have Ruby following you around for the rest of the week asking you this question over and over again."

The swordsman breathed out. "When I concentrate, I can sense people."

"What?" and "That's so cool!" were the two simultaneously reactions from the girls from Remnant.

"You can sense people." and "You really have to teach me that!" they continued, before Ruby turned toward her teammate, jumping up and down from excitement. "Do you know how helpful such a skill can be when we are on rescue missions? Or when we are searching for secret spies in dark caverns?" she turned towards Rean. "Now you really have to teach me this skill!" she exclaimed.

But Weiss' eyes suddenly got small. "Hold on a minute. Does that mean you know exactly where we are at any given time? When we take a shower for example?"

The boy took on a defensive stance. He really didn't like the direction the conversation was heading. "No, no, nothing like that." Rean raised his hand like he would surrender. "I can only sense the presence of a person. I can't say, who that person is or what that person is doing." The black-haired boy explained quickly. "And even if that was possible, I wouldn't use it for something so indecent." Turning to Alisa for help he added a "Right?".

"I don't know." The blond girl began, sending a shiver down Rean's spine. "You seem to get along with a lot of females, so maybe…"

"That's not helping!" the boy cried out. As a result, all girls began laughing loudly.

After the laughter had subsided, the four students moved towards a couch corner standing by the staircase.

"So, what did you want to talk about? And don't worry about Blake and Yang, I will deliver the message to them personally." Weiss reopened the conversation.

"Well, George wants you four to come to the engineering building after school until we leave for our Field Study." The swordsman started. "He wants to try different quartz set ups with you as well as train you in the usage of Arts, so that you can handle your Arcus Units in your sleep until this weekend."

"So, more studying?" Ruby whined.

"Please take this seriously." Alisa scolded the scythe user. "During our last Field Studies one group always got into tight situations. Who knows if we would all be sitting here today if it wasn't for Arts and Combat Links."

"But I want to learn these cool sword beams that you and Pancake used." The leader of Team RWBY spoke up.

"Towa is already looking into it." Rean responded. "She is looking for students who can help you refine your fighting style. Angelica for example has already agreed to teach Yang. And for you Weiss, it may be a member of Class I or II, given that the rapier is a weapon mostly associated with the nobility. Jusis may be a potential teacher, too."

"What about me? Who is going to teach me?" Ruby interrupted.

"They are still looking for students who can teach you and Blake." The swordsman admitted. "Blake's fighting style is pretty unique and your weapon isn't something often used here in the empire." Seeing Ruby's depressed expression, he quickly added "But knowing Towa, she will have someone before this week is over." Ruby thanked him with a small smile. "The last point comes from Instructor Sarah. During the month between this Field Study and the next, all four of you must join a club."

"School club?" Weiss asked surprise. "We already have much more to learn than all of you, so I doubt we would have time for them."

Alisa sighed. "Knowing Instructor Sarah, her reasoning is something like 'You shouldn't waste your youth with studying. You should enjoy it and make new friends, experience stuff you like and hate and so on'."

Rean laughed. "Believe it or not, that were exact her words. Including the 'so on'".

"And in which clubs are you two?" Ruby asked.

Alisa spoke first. "I'm in the Lacrosse club." she told the girls.

"Lacrosse, I see." Ruby muttered. "And you, Rean?"

"Well I don't know if it can be called a club, but our dear Instructor told Towa at the beginning of the school year, that I would help them with miscellaneous tasks all around the academy and Trista."

"And since then he is the council's little lapdog every free day." Alisa added with a snicker, before noticing the stars in Ruby's eyes.

"Then as of today you have your own little helper." The scythe user declared.

"Wait, don't be so hasty." The boy tried to calm the silver eyed girl down. "Maybe you think it over once more. There are many different things you can experience here, like cooking or riding."

"As a huntress my future job will be helping other people anyway." Ruby countered. "In a way, I can gather the best experience when I help you helping others. And I'm going to interact with a lot of different people, meaning I have a high chance to befriend someone. As such, I won't go against the wish of our Professor."

"Knowing her, she would immediately agree with you to 100%." Rean mumbled, before getting louder. "But no withdrawal. No sleeping in and no breaks on free days until all tasks are completed, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Ruby responded and saluted towards Rean.

"With that taken care of, what other clubs does this academy have?" With this question from Weiss the four students talked about possible choices regarding their future.

**xXx**

**Hello and welcome back. It's been a long time and I want to thank everyone who commented and liked this story. This chapter was really hard to write. But after four different settings, a total of 16 different scenarios (the most for Blake) I finally decided to publish it. **

**Honestly I didn't know what to expect when I started writing this story. But after getting new followers and even comments after more than 6 months of not posting anything shows me, that people not only read this story, but also make their own thoughts about it, both good and bad. It's a really heartwarming feeling and I hope that I don't take too much time to upload the next chapter. But I can't make any promises now, since I don't know if it will be a good chapter or a bad chapter (like this one ;-) ). **

**However one promise I can make: The next chapter will return to Remnant. Qrow, Ozpin and Winter will give their first reaction to the story right now and maybe learn more about Arts, Crafts and all the other stuff that Team RWBY got to learn while visiting Zemuria.**

**And so I wish you good luck and goof health until we meet again. **

**Thanks for everyone who left a like, a follow and/or a comment. **


	8. Chapter 8

"So, this is an Arcus Unit?" Ozpin held the device he had been given by Ruby close to his face, examining it throughout.

"And these things allow you to use magic spells?" Winter asked sceptical. "I'm sorry, but this entire story sounds like a fairy tale to me."

"But what would they gain from lying, especially after the entrance they made." Qrow scoffed, not happy with the Atlesian specialist doubting his nieces. "There story can be verified by a simple test. A failed demonstration would expose their story immediately."

The four girls of team RWBY nodded. They had expected such a demand.

"Professor Ozpin, would you kindly open a window?" Weiss requested, standing up to prepare herself for the demonstration.

"Please hold on a moment." Winter intervened. All eyes in the room turned towards the older Schnee sibling. "I request that another one of your teammates performs the demonstration."

Multiple voices of displeasure got loud, but the headmaster silenced them with one handwave. "May I ask for the reason of your request?"

"Yeah." Qrow threw in, disregarding the disappointed look that Ozpin was giving him. "Don't you trust them even a little? Not even your own sister?" The venom in his voice was clearly heard.

"Weiss is my sister," Winter agreed before continuing ", but this story is so much bigger than anticipated. If we want to learn the truth, we must exclude any disruptive factor that could call the result into question." A colourful glyph appeared beside her. "And as you all know, the Schnee family has a powerful Semblance that allows the manipulation of the elements themselves if used correctly." A gust of wind blew threw the office, coming from the summoned glyph. "And a well trained Schnee can even influence the size of the glyph." As Winter explained, the Glyph got smaller, but the breeze continued to fly through the office.

"And you think your sister is going to cheat with her Semblance." Qrow wasn't convinced. "Why?"

"Because the entire timing seems suspicious. Think about it, four girls getting wished away into another world before a big fighting tournament just to return with enough time to compete?" Winter closed her eyes. "It simply fits too perfectly."

"You didn't answer my question." Qrow shot back.

Winter wasn't disturbed. "I think you know how gambling works, right?" the specialist asked without opening her eyes. "Do you know, how much you can win by betting on a newcomer team participating for the first time?"

"Enough to get me drunk for an entire week." The male huntsman muttered.

"That's the case if you bet only 100 or 200 Lien. Increase the bet, and you can live without a care for multiple years." The older Schnee sibling explained. "And to make sure that your bet works, you can try to influence the tournament in advance, by simply making an unassuming team much stronger than their competition. In these criteria, Team RWBY actually fits the needed criteria pretty well: four talented young girls at their first Vytal festival. Nothing too impressive to their names while also not too bland, making their chance of winning not completely obvious but not impossible either."

"You seemed to have thought this through, Miss Schnee." The headmaster lowered his head, before continuing. "As such I agree with you. Please, let somebody else of you team do it."

The girls looked at each other, before Weiss sat down and Blake stood up. "May I get mine and Weiss' Arcus?" Seeing the confused looks she was given, she continued "We prepared Weiss' unit with weaker spells to prevent any property damage while demonstrating Arts. If she isn't allowed to do the demonstration, I need to prepare my unit accordingly."

The three adults looked at each other, before Qrow gave the device he had gotten from the Faunus girl back to her. Weiss and Blake opened their Arcus Units and with trained hands, changed a few small, round objects called Quartz. After some seconds the speheres lit up for a second and Blake nodded. "Everything is prepared." she announced and moved towards the window.

Closing her eyes, she took a breath and activated the machine in her hand. "Arcus activate!" Multiple rings appeared around her, shocking Qrow and Winter, while Ozpin looked closer. "Air Strike!" Strong winds erupted inside the office for a moment, before they were condensed in what appeared to be a ball and shot out of the office window. Before one of the adults could say something, Blake activated her Arcus again. This time the Faunus used "Aqua bleed", which resulted in water being drawn out of the air and being used in a similar fashion as the air bullet before. In one last demonstration Blake summoned fire and shot it out.

After finishing the third spell she turned around. "Is this proof enough?" she asked.

"Yes. I have no objection." The older Schnee sibling answered. During the third spell she hadn't looked at the casting girl, but at her sister. Only after seeing her doing nothing to support her team mate, she was satisfied.

"I can't believe it. This is magic." Qrow stuttered. "There is no way this is natural."

"Nope." Yang corrected her uncle. "This is science. Couldn't believe it ourselves when we first witnessed it, though." The blond brawler lent backwards into her chair. "And believe me, against real magic this is just a parlor trick."

"Wait!" Ozpin threw in "Does this mean you four witnessed real magic?"

Qrow could hear the well-hidden worry in the headmaster's voice. He had been working with Ozpin too long not to notice it. And he could understand him perfectly. In Remnant there were only four possible magic users. If they encountered one, that could mean one of two things. Either they found one that Ozpin was looking for or they had a run of with the one that had stolen her power. Qrow prayed that it wasn't the latter. Unlike Winter, who seemingly accepted the story of his niece and her team, he wasn't completely convinced yet. The short demonstration of the Arcus Unit was convincing, but the huntsman also knew how quick technology could advance. It could be possible that these otherworldly devices were going to pop up everywhere after the Vytal festival, once Team RWBY had demonstrated their usefulness in practical combat. "I really need a drink." He murmured, trying to stop his thoughts from spiralling out of control.

"It's true." Blake, who had just sat down, restarted the conversation. "We witnessed magic first hand. We know how powerful it can be."

"Who was it?" Ozpin asked, hiding his fear behind a mask of fatherly curiosity. Similar to Qrow he feared for the girls. If they had contact with a maiden, they could also be known to her. Maybe they were even working for her, unknowingly.

"Emma, our class president. She is a witch." Ruby answered. Suddenly she noticed how that sounded and added hastily "But she is a good witch, not a bad one. She was always nice and helpful."

Suddenly Ozpin started laughing. "It's nice to see that you haven't changed, Miss Rose." he admitted after calming down, his black thoughts being banished for the moment. "But you don't need to worry. We won't judge her just because of the title she holds. If you say, that she is a good witch, then I believe you."

"At least she isn't a Goodwitch." Yang threw in, but was met with silence. "Come on, that was funny."

"Miss Xiao Long, I appreciate your effort, but please hold back further jokes regarding my colleagues. I'm sure Professor Goodwitch has prepared more than enough work for you to make up for the last few weeks and I don't want to increase her workload." The headmaster leaned backwards. "You know how she can be. Are we clear?" A cold shiver ran over Yang's back and she nodded quickly. "Well, then let us return to your story, please."

"Wait a moment before we continued." Qrow suddenly spoke up. "You said, that Emma was a good witch. Does that mean that you also met evil witches?"

The four girls looked at one another. It was Ruby who answered. "Yes, there was one." She admitted. "Unlike Emma however, her identity is related to something huge. Telling you without the proper setup would make the entire story even more complicated than it already is, that's why we didn't mention her before."

"But this Emma doesn't?" Qrow asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Emma was always with us." His niece continued. "And even though she hid her status as a witch, she didn't impact our journey all that much before revealing it. As such, there is no harm in revealing her now."

"And the second one?" Qrow pressed on.

"Do you want us to go on about Zemurian politics now?" Yang threw in annoyed. "She is connected to one big organization, that has it's hands in practically anything big happening in Zemuria. That is the short version."

Before Qrow could give a response, Ozpin intervened. "We understand. It's just not everyday that you hear about witches becoming real." He leaned forwards. "Please continue."

Ruby nodded and started. "As we already told you, we received our Arcus units and trained with them the rest of the week. During these days we also got our school uniforms. All in all you can say, that everything went fine for four girls who just jumped into another universe. But at the upcoming trip we all got our first real taste of Erebonian politics."

**xXx**

**And welcome to the next chapter. It's a return to Remnant and how Ozpin, Qrow and Winter received the story up until now. Just to make one thing clear: these three aren't stupid or antagonistic towards Team RWBY. It's just that a story about travelling to another world sounds very unbelievable.**

**There also is a reason to the difference in reaction towards the Arcus from Qrow and Winter. Qrow for example knows about technology which doesn't seem to be public knowledge (like the Aura Transfer device). For him it is possible, that these Arcus Units were developed by someone in Remnant and given to RWBY for some purpose (like marketing). Winter on the other hand knows about the military technology of her home kingdom of Atlas. She knows that something like an Arcus Unit doesn't exist there. At the same time she is military specialist. In this role I doubt she would simply buy any story told to her, even so one of the story teller is her sister Weiss.**

**Thanks for everyone who liked, followed and commented this story. It's always a blast to see you guys. And for Dcraus personally, here are my actual standpoints on certain parinings for Team RWBY:**

**Ruby Rose - Rean Schwarzer (potential): As of now, I don't have decided which girl will end up with Rean. Ruby can be an easy going counterpart to Rean's more selfconscious side and her Silver Eyes could develop an interesting reaction when combined with his Ogre Power. I simply must see, how I will continue the story to see if Miss Rose has a chance with Rean.**

**Weiss Schnee - Jusis Albarea (sure): Similar backstory, but both grew differently when faced with their hardship. Yet, I can see them complementing each other.**

**Blake Belladonna - Machias Regnitz (sure): See Weiss Schnee - Jusis Albarea.**

**Yang Xiao Long: I can see Yang working well with two potential characters. On the one hand we have Gaius. Both are the older sibling, who care deeply for their family, but them combined are like a raging fire and a calming wind. They support each other and I think that it would complement Yang more if she has someone who isn't so over the top. On the other hand there is Angelica. It is Yuri, but there love for unarmed combat as well as a more free live style can connect them. Similar to Ruby I will have to see how I will continue the story to make a final decision here.**

**Thank you for reading and have a nice day. **


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